A Dangerous Journey
by SMHBubbles
Summary: When four friends from this world are seperated in the Avatar world, they must enlist the help of unlikely people to help find their way together again. And how can they help the avatar?
1. The Beginning

It had all started out as such a normal day you know, I was sitting with my friends in the living room during a huge thunderstorm that had just struck our town. There was Tina, Kyle, Josh, and of course me, Alex.

We were also bored out of our minds. There was nothing on TV and the storm made it dangerous to operate any electronic devices.

Tina sighed and looked up at the large TV that hung from the wall. "Should we see if there's anything on?"

I looked up from what I was writing (that's what I do, I'm a writer) and shook my head, "We really shouldn't…"

Kylegroaned, "oh come on, like there's anything better to do, go on, turn it on."

Tinaturned the knob on the TV. The screen came to life, and to my utter surprise I saw that what was playing was none other than a commercial that proclaimed, _Coming up next: Avatar._

Tina, a huge fanatic just like me, squealed in delight. Josh, who actually knew what it was, rolled his eyes and started to absently strum his guitar again.

Kylehowever, had no idea what Avatar was. "What's on next?" he asked.

No one ever got a chance to answer him, for just as the opening scenes came into view I looked up and saw a large drop of water slowly make its way towards the television.

Just a moment too late I shouted out, "Watch out!"

But I was much too late.

The water hit the device and electric shocks made their way through the room.

That was the last we would see of each other for awhile.

* * *

Sixteenyear old Alex opened her eyes to gaze at her surroundings. She was lying on the ground in a sprawled position. As she sat up something about her surroundings seemed all to familiar. No, not familiar at least, but comforting.

She rubbed her head and stopped. Slowly, she pulled a strand of hair from her face into her eyesight. She discovered her normally dark red hair had turned pitch black.

It took her awhile, but suddenly, realization became all too real. In horror she crawled to the small stream close to where she had fallen and looked down at her reflection.

Her hair was indeed black. But that was not the only thing that had changed. Her brown eyes had turned a startling shade of amber, and her face was completely clear and free of blemishes.

Her clothing had also changed. She was wearing a dark red tank top with a low scooped neck. Her black pants ended with a pair of high black boots that ended near her knees.

Her hair was wavy and hung around her shoulders. She stared at herself in the water before she willed herself to stand up.

"Ok, this can not be happening," she told herself over and over, "There is no possible way I'm in the Avatar world."

She looked in one direction, "You know what, I bet that if I walk in that direction, I'll find a nice, quite town where everything makes sense and proves that I am in some weird world _other_ than what I think I'm in."

Hours later Alex was running through the trees in a panicked state. It was pouring rain and she was soaked through. She had been running for what seemed like an eternity and still she had yet to spot someone.

She collapsed against a tree trunk, breathing heavily from the pain of running for so long. She had now given up all hope of finding anyone.

Leaning her back against the tree she forced herself to admit that she was in this world, and tried to think of where the others were.

She assumed she was in the fire nation, but where the others were she had no idea. She pondered about why she was here when it hit her. She had been born in a month where the ruling element was fire. That meant…

She gasped and hit her head against the tree with a groan. Of all the rotten luck. If she was right that meant that Tina and Josh were in the Earth Kingdom, and Kyle was in the water tribe. One of them at least.

But the awful thing was, if she was still correct that meant that the only person who was near the avatar and could somehow convince him to find them, well, he didn't even know what this place was! As far as she knew Kyle had no clue whatsoever where he was or what was happening.

A twig snapped in the distance and Alex tensed, opening her eyes to see a tall boy of seventeen looking down at her questionably.

"Are you all right?" he asked, coming closer. She could see he was fire nation, confirming her suspicions of where she was.

She shook her head, "No not really, unless it's natural to be soaking wet in the middle of nowhere." She laughed to herself.

He laughed also and helped her to her feet, why don't you come with me? I'm sure my parents won't mind."

Alex was too wet and too exhausted to argue. After all, was she really going to start judging people this early?


	2. Friends and Troubles

Hundreds of miles away Josh awoke to the sounds of arguing and turmoil. Groaning, he sat up in his…bed?

He looked down and saw that he was indeed in a bed…how peculiar. As he stood up he noticed that his clothing had changed also. He was wearing a plain grey shirt with a light brown jacket, brown pants, and some low brown boots.

The thought that he was dreaming crossed his mind instantly. But he had no idea how wrong he was until he ventured outside of the tent, pushing up his sleeves.

He stared at the sight before him. There were people moving boulders. But they were doing it with their _hands. Without_ touching the rocks at all.

"Oh my god," he said bluntly, as he gazed at the many tracks of brick that surrounded him, packages zooming up and down, "This is not good."

* * *

Miles away Tina awoke with a start. Looking around her she noticed something vaguely familiar about this place.

Gasping, she jumped out of the bed she had been lying in and rushed to a small mirror that was perched on the edge of a dresser.

Gingerly picking it up, she took a glance at her reflection. She was more than overjoyed at what she saw.

Her blond hair had turned a deep brown, and her deep brown eyes – still the same – gleamed in excitement. Her hair was very long, and pulled into a low tail on the left side of her head, by her ear.

She stood back and took a gander at what she was wearing. She wore a loose brown tunic with a fitted waist over a pair of simple brown pants with some low brown boots.

She squealed with glee and gave a little jump. She of course had known all along that she had been born under earth, and this rocked!

She stopped as she thought of Josh. He had been born under earth also. Maybe he was here with her!

She raced outside and looked around, trying to perhaps locate her friend. But try as she might the tiny village had no trace of him.

With a sigh she grabbed the small brown pouch that had been by her bed and slung it across her chest. She didn't really know what to do now, but she knew she had to start by finding Josh.

* * *

Kyle muttered in his sleep and rolled over and off his warm bed, landing on the floor painfully.

He moaned and lifted his head to look around him. He suddenly got up and almost panicked. This was _not_ anyplace he had ever been before.

"Oh god," he said, "I've been kidnapped.

But he shook this thought from his mind, forcing himself to think clearly.

"Ok Kyle just think. What was the last thing you remember doing?" ok, that was easy, he had been in Alex's living room and Tina had just turned on—the—

He gaped. There was _no_ freaking way.

He looked down at his clothes in wonder. He was wearing a dark blue polo shirt with a light blue one underneath, blue pants, and tan colored boots.

He looked up and almost fell backwards in shock at what he saw. He was staring right into a mirror. And it was incredible.

His dusty blond hair had turned a shade of dark brown. And his hazel eyes had turned a dark, dark blue.

He swallowed and exited the building, telling himself he was dreaming.

"Hey you, watch it!" a voice shouted.

Kyle turned just in time to see a small rock being hurtled at his head by a small child. As it hit him he felt a sharp pain go through his head.

All right, so maybe this was real.

But what was _this_? And more importantly, _where_ was this?

He spotted an odd looking kid with a blue arrow on his head and walked on over. Maybe this kid could explain things.

* * *

Alex stepped inside the pleasantly warm house and sighed as the heat filled her body.

The boy's mother looked up with friendly smiles as she was introduced (partially) to them.

"Well, isn't that thoughtful of young Luke to bring you in like this." She beamed, "And what might your name be child?"

She took a breath, letting the warm air sooth her sinuses, "Alex,"

His mother smiled and handed her a cup of tea, "What a nice name. Tell us, what business do you have here on the docks?"

"You mean this is the harbor?" she asked in wonder. As far as she knew trees that thick were not common around shipyards.

His mother laughed, "Oh heavens _no_, that's just the name of this small town. The harbor is about twenty miles away. Why, are you headed in that direction?"

Knowing it was her only method of escaping the island she nodded, "Yes, could you point me in the right direction? I need to live for the earth kingdom immediately?"

His mother put her tea down and frowned, "Now why on earth are you going there?"

"To uh—"she thought quickly, "To find my friends. They were taken hostage by earth kingdom troops."

His mother sighed, "Nowadays no one is safe from the war, even the youth."

Luke spoke up, "I could take you there."

"Luke!" his mother proclaimed in alarm.

"But mother you know I could. She can't just be wandering around by herself! And besides, I need to go there anyway, I could try and find father."

It was very silent in the household, but finally his mother gave a shaky sigh, "Very well. That is, if the young lady does not object…" she looked at Alex.

Alex was more than relieved. She had no idea how to get around this place, or what the natives were like. She would need all the help she could get.

"That would be wonderful, thank you," she said to Luke.

He smiled, "Don't mention it. But I hope you don't mind sleeping here tonight, it would be all but foolish to try to take a step out there."

She smiled and gave in, letting his kind mother prepare a cot for her to sleep on. As she lay down to sleep that night, listening to the rain beat down on the rooftop. She actually felt at peace.

* * *

hope everyone is liking it so far. I wrote sixty-five whole pages on Word for this fic, and I might have to up the rating just a wee bit. I love my reviewers! thank you all! 


	3. THe Harbor and the King

YAY! I love my reviews. after you read I've got some good news and some greater news!

* * *

Josh gaped at the sight before him. Hundreds of miles of chutes extended past his gaze. As he stared in wonder he noticed the benders again. There was no doubt in his mind that he was where he thought he was.

Although it didn't help that he had seen all of three minutes of this particular episode…

As he wandered around Omashu aimlessly he wondered where the others where. He also wondered why in the world he was in the Earth Kingdom, if he was even right about his location.

The people were friendly and gave him cheerful waves as he passed. He smiled to himself, trying to forget that he was in a different dimension and that his friends could be hundreds of miles away.

He wondered if they were even here—he tried not to think that he was in this strange world alone. Even if they were miles away, knowing that they were here would be good enough for him.

He was thinking hard about what had happened the last time he had watched the show. It had been the end of season one and he had actually enjoyed watching that particular hour. He assumed – correctly – that whatever time it was here, it was after the events that had taken place.

He knew this mainly because he heard a group of earth citizens talking about it in hushed voices.

--"…oh yes, the cabbages are ripe this year, sure to be…"

--"…did you _see_ her this morning? What was she…?"

--"…yes, siege on the Northern Water Tribe a few days ago…"

--"…Avatar is staying up North…"

It was then that he realized that not only did he have to find his friends, but he had to locate the Avatar as well.

He was so obsessed with his thinking that he didn't watch where he was going, and thus running into a cart, in the outcome spilling cabbages all over the street.

The merchant screamed in outrage and frustration and called the soldiers on him.

Josh gulped as he was led into an enormous stone building that could only be home to the King.

* * *

Tina inhaled sharply and caught her breath as she climbed the last hill. In front of her loomed a great city that was very familiar to her.

"Omashu!" she cried with glee as she picked her way down the steep slope to the pathway that led up to the gate. As she walked towards the entrance she caught a piece of conversations here and there.

--"Oh yes, the baby's doing _fine…_"

--"…That's right; some strange boy was arrested for destruction of cabbages, taken to the king. He didn't seem to know what was happening…"

Tina willed herself to keep her relief inside. It was most likely that that boy was Josh. The bad news was, he was being held prisoner.

The guards let her in upon seeing that she was of the earth kingdom and she made her way through the crowds to the great palace, hoping she could free her friend.

"I need to speak with King—Bumi," she said awkwardly at the gate.

The soldier sneered at her, "And what is your business with the King?"

She straightened herself and stared him right in the eye, "I have information about the prisoner."

The guard nodded and stepped aside, letting her walk through the earthen brown gates to the King's throne room.

Just as she expected, Josh was bound and sat on his knees in front of the king. She noted with amusement that the merchant was the same one from the actual episode. He was just as mad, if not even more.

The king looked up at her arrival, "Ah, hello there young lass."

Josh paid no attention, he just sighed in relief at his sentence being withheld for the time being.

"Your liege," she bowed deeply, "I have information that proves the prisoner should be set free."

Josh whipped his head around as he heard the familiar voice. He sighed in relief when he saw Tina. At least he knew he wasn't alone in this godforsaken place.

Tina made up a long and believable story about how they were good friends of the avatar, and in the panic of their separation Josh had become distressed and thus forth _accidentally_ ran into the man's cart.

The king nodded, "The avatar eh? Well why didn't you say so?" he snapped his fingers and the chains – which were made of rock and stone – fell to the floor.

Tina and Josh exchanged looks as the King went on, "I will give you a weeks worth of supplies, that should help you two get to the next town: Bai Sing Sai. You have a long journey ahead of you if you wish to reach the Avatar before he departs. Of course," he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, "His next stop would be in the earth kingdom…"

Tina exchanged a panicked look with Josh before he stated, "But we need to find him now. He—he has our friend with him."

Josh had no idea, in fact, how accurate this was. Never would he imagine finding one of his friends at the North Pole. But the king nodded and sent them on their way, Tina's bag filled to the brim, as was the one the king had given Josh.

She grinned at him and slapped him on the back as they climbed the same hill she had only an hour ago descended down, "Good to see you man,"

* * *

Kyle approached the odd kid slowly. What was he supposed to say to him anyway? "Hi I'm Kyle, can you tell me if this is Earth? Or where I am for that matter?"

Oh yeah, that was Oscar material all right.

He sighed and cautiously tapped the kid on the shoulder. When he turned around Kyle's eyes grew wide in shock. This kid had a freaking _arrow_ not only on his head but up and down his arms, most likely also his legs.

The kid – Aang – saw the odd teen staring at him and uneasily asked, "Can I help you—with something?" he asked helpfully.

Kyle snapped back to what was happening. He had been so intent on the strange markings that he had not noticed the other two young teenagers – Sokka and Katara – stand beside Aang with questioning looks on their faces.

Kyle cleared his throat, "Oh, I was wondering—" he hesitated, "I was wondering if you could tell me where I am."

Sokka raised an eyebrow, "This is the North Pole," he stated clearly and slowly, as if this kid was stupid. How could he not know where they were?

Kyle looked around quickly, and seeing all the people he muttered, "And all those years my geography teacher told me the North Pole was unpopulated." He whistled long and low in appreciation.

Katara glared at Sokka, who was making crazy signs at the kid. She smiled at him, "My name is Katara, please excuse my brother Sokka, he doesn't know what he's saying," she glared at her brother once again.

Kyle fully noticed the girl now and gulped. She was rather attractive and he felt really stupid now for asking such a dumb question.

"Well," he said, trying to think of an excuse for his idiotic statement, "What I meant was if you could—tell me what street we're on, I'm a bit turned round." He said smoothly, inside his mind he was applauding his abilities.

The girl named Katara smiled and he felt himself smiling too, "Well," she said, "This is Water Way." She laughed at the silliness of the name but forced herself to pull together, "You never told us your name,"

"I'm Aang!" Aang put in. everyone looked at him but he only shrugged.

"Kyle, my name is Kyle," he said, relaxing.

Katara took her gloved hand and grabbed his bare one, smiling, "I'll show you the way to the kitchen, you look starved," she started to pull him along.

After she and the boy had left Sokka turned to Aang, "Do you have an odd feeling that something isn't right here?

"I'll say!" Aang had one hand out, pointing at the street sign, "This says Water _Lane_."

Sokka smacked his forehead. Aang looked offended, "_What?_"

Sokka only shook his head and walked away, leaving a very confused Aang behind.

* * *

The next morning Alex and Luke were traversing through the forest, tired, hungry, and sweaty. They had been walking for hours and all she had seen were trees, trees, and more _trees_.

"They really need to get an exterior decorator in here," she muttered to herself, smiling.

Luke looked at her from up ahead, "What did you say?"

She shook her head, "Nothing. How much longer till we hit the harbor?" she gasped, panting from the hike they had just completed.

He thought for a moment, "Actually, we should have been there about an hour ago."

She groaned, "Are you saying we're lost?" she hiked up the small pack on her back, which was full of food and water canteens.

She couldn't see him, but she knew he was smiling sheepishly, "No. I'm just saying we should of…" he trailed off and stopped. "Thank goodness," he sighed.

She was about to ask what his problem was when she saw what he was looking at. The harbor was directly below them, just down a small hill. All around people were manning their ships and buying supplies from local venders.

She smiled and clapped him on the back, "Nice job. But next time I recommend a tour guide." She laughed and started down the hill. But she suddenly stopped and reached into the bad, pulling out an article of clothing his mother had given her to wear into the port.

"They don't like seeing lots of women around, makes um nervous," his mother had said as she had handed her the item.

She pulled it on. In all facts it resembled a hooded sweatshirt she had owned back home. But this one had very light cloth for the warm weather, and it was a dark black color.

She pulled the hood up over her head, just revealing part of her face, the rest hidden in shadows.

Luke nodded and led the way down the terrain.

As they walked through the port they pondered about what they were going to do. There was no way they would find a ship of their own to take, so their best bet was to find a shipper who was heading in the same direction and hope they could sign on as crew members.

But so far every place they asked was a disappointment. The only ship they had found was a war ship. But the captain leered at her and said point blank, "no women allowed."

Now she sighed as they continued down the port's main street. Life was so unfair.

* * *

Is everyone here? can you all hear me? great. well, the good news is that I've officially written 81 FULL Word pages of this story! the greater news is...well, that means one or even two or three chapteres up any time I gets da chance! Yay! lol, and eveysooften I will treat you to a lil treat: a special sneak peek at a much later chapter! yay! here is the first one:

omg before I do that, you all have to know that whatever happens in the second season, THIS qoute was written before ZUKO ALONE, episode twenty seven, where he had memories, feels along yadda yadda. I didn't want people thinking I told it from that, since the story is so long it might be after the episode I get the chappie up! here ya go,enjoy the very confusing qoute(s..?)

on a beach, watching a sunset

"It makes you think about things," he mussed, "Like how alone you are, when you watch a sunset with no one to share it with." He looked awfully sad and depressed.

"Do you think you're alone now?" she asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this right now, so she could get these thoughts out of her mind.

He thought for a moment, "I think so. I'm all ways alone, no matter how many people are around."...(skip a few lines, lol)

"You're wrong, Prince Zuko," she whispered, "You're not alone."

in a shop, the dilema is Zuko can't fasten his armor

Alex saw his dilemma and took pity on him. Shaking her head in wonder she walked over, "let me help you with that,"

But as she reached to tighten an arm strap she looked at him, the picture of sheet seriousness, even though they both knew she was joking.

"Not that I'm playing the role of your future wife," she pointed out as she tightened the arm and side straps.


	4. Meeting Iroh

this chapter is a bit longer, but not too long.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to gaurdiangirl1, who has been the first to review each one, lol

* * *

Tina and Josh traversed through the wide open and barren landscape. They had not seen a living being for quite some time, not even an animal for that matter. Tina was beginning to think that maybe they were headed in the wrong direction, that they were going south towards the fire nation instead of north. The weather was much warmer here and it was empty, as if—as if burned to the ground.

Josh sighed, "This is hopeless, how do you know anyone is up there?"

She glared at him, "Because, if you and I were in the earth kingdom it makes sense that Kyle is in the water tribes. Or at least one of them."

He glared at her, "_one_ of them. Oh that's great, so we could be going in the wrong direction."

She ignored him, "that means that we were placed in nations according to our birth element. You and I were born under earth and Kyle under water. That means he must be there. Besides, even if we don't find him we're sure to find the Avatar, and Aang might help us."

Josh just grunted and kicked at a stray rock. "Whatever."

* * *

Kyle still did not know what was happening, but he knew he wasn't in the same dimension anymore. As he was eating he noticed several people moving water through the air using their hands to guide it. It fascinated him to a point he could never explain.

Katara smiled at his astonishment and showed him some waterbending of her own.

Kyle shook his head in wonder, "I just don't get all this."

She frowned, "What is there to explain?"

He sighed, "Nothing, nothing at all."

* * *

General Iroh walked through the fire nation port, very relaxed. People paid their respects to him and he enjoyed this part of the nation. He was also looking for a new ship, and a crew as well.

His hooded companion however, was all but relaxed. Every look thrown at him he almost leapt at the person. He was very tense and afraid of getting caught.

Iroh smiled and whispered to his nephew, "Relax, as long as you keep yourself hidden no one will notice. They think you are dead remember?"

Zuko didn't respond, but inside his hood he rolled his eyes. His mouth and nose were also covered, and his revealed eyes were mostly hidden in the shade of the hood, so the scared part of his eye was not noticeable.

They found themselves walking behind a boy Zuko's age and a hooded girl – it was hard not to notice she was a girl, the jacket was very fitting – and Zuko couldn't help but listen to their conversation as they walked. After all, it was their fault for talking so loudly.

Alex sighed, "Look Luke, let's just face it, the chances of us finding a shipper to employ us are a hundred to one. No one wants us." She paused, "or maybe no one wants me." She stared at him.

"All right," he said, "Maybe that is it. But I'm not going to abandon you here; it was your idea to come in the first place."

She went on, "Because why wouldn't they want you? You're young yet mature, well built, intelligent," she narrowed her eyes, "And I suspect that you're a Firebender."

He looked uncomfortable, "I don't like to advertise that."

"And why not?" she demanded, "Are you good?"

"Well, yes…but—"

"Then don't be so stupid! That's an amazing talent any employer should be glad to have on his ship." She sighed, "If the next one we come to turns us away because of me, _you_ are going to go."

He protested, "But Alex—"

"No buts," she smiled sadly, "But what are the chances any ship around here is heading in our direction anyway?"

He sighed, "I know. But I also don't see what their problem is. You know, with you." He looked at her, "I mean, today we hiked for _thirty_ miles and never once did you rest. Now you're walking around like you just woke up. That's amazing. And you're strong and so much smarter than me…" he didn't mention the firebending part, and Alex didn't really want him to.

She didn't know if she could firebend or not, but she didn't care. She only needed to find her friends and get out of here; if things went as planned she would never have to learn firebending because there would be no need.

Luke pondered something, "You never said where you were from."

She looked at him, "I'm from the capital," she said, almost automatically. She was surprised it had come out so smoothly.

He raised an eyebrow, "Wow, you came a long way."

Iroh looked at his companion with a sly smile. He too had overheard the conversation.

Zuko gave him a look that said, 'If you hire a girl I will burn you to a crisp.'

Iroh returned the look, 'try and stop me.' It said.

He cleared his throat, "Excuse me children."

* * *

Alex and Luke stopped and turned around. Alex's eyes grew wide when she saw Iroh. It only confirmed her suspicions that this was after the last episode she had seen, the end of the season.

She regained her composure, bowing her head a little she said calmly, "General Iroh, it is an honor to be in your presence." She saw his companion out of the corner of her eye but paid no attention to the stranger.

Iroh smiled, "The pleasure is all mine young girl. What is your name?"

Alex smiled in the calming presence of the kind old man, "Alex sir," she gestured to Luke, "and this is Luke."

Iroh bowed his head in respect to both of them, "I couldn't help overhearing part of your conversation," he said smiling, "But where are you headed when you find a ship?"

Alex did not hesitate, "The North Pole."

Iroh raised his brows and he knew his nephew was paying attention now. "Really. What for?"

She repeated the same story she had told Luke and his mother, "My friends were taken captive."

Iroh smiled, "Well how about it. I am going the same way. Would you care to join us?" he knew Zuko was glaring at him but paid no attention.

She had something on her mind she just had to get out, "I know I may not be up to current events, so pardon my asking General—"

He raised a hand to silence her, "Please, call me Iroh. And ask away dear."

She nodded, "Thank you for you generosity Iroh, but last time I heard, you were traveling with the Prince,"

Iroh bowed his head sadly, "Yes, that was true. But there was a terrible accident." He looked at her sadly, "The Prince is dead."

* * *

Now Zuko had been watching the girl when she had asked this. But when his uncle repeated the news to her he was surprised to see not a look of fake sorrow or even triumph, but a brief look of surprise before she frowned sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." She looked over at the tall, shrouded figure and her eyes locked with his. Her eyes widened ever so slightly and Zuko knew that she knew. She gave him the slightest smile and turned back to Iroh.

When she said that Iroh knew she was being sincere.

"But I am sorry to say I can not accept your offer Iroh," she looked at Luke, "But please take Luke with you. He is more than capable of handling it."

Iroh raised his eyebrows, inside he was admiring this girl's courage and loyalty to her friend, "Oh, and what makes you think you cannot?"

She looked back at him with the same look, "What makes you think I can?"

Iroh laughed, "You have great spirit, I admire that in a young woman. But if you think that fact bothers me," they both knew he was speaking of her being a girl, "Then you are mistaken. Some of the greatest warriors of the world have been women. In fact, several avatars have been women. I see no reason not to take you on."

She smiled, "but sir, I have done nothing to deserve this, I have done nothing to prove my worth to you."

Iroh was about to respond when an angry voice rang over the crowds, "Girl!"

She turned in outrage at the man who was yelling at her. He was one of the men they had inquired to about hire. He looked livid as he approached them.

* * *

hee, hee, no preview this time, you got two in a row last time. hope you likeyed! 


	5. A Job and Aunt Wu

* * *

"Is something wrong officer?" Iroh asked calmly.

The captain noticed that he was in the presence of General Iroh and he bowed his head in respect, "Forgive me sir, but this girl has stolen a great amount of gold from me."

Alex was in shock, "I did no such thing!" she said, livid with anger.

He glared at her, "I'm willing to fight you on your word."

She didn't even bat an eye, "Deal."

Luke grabbed her shoulder but she shrugged him off, "I can handle this."

A large circle was made around her and the man, mostly by onlookers. Luke, Iroh, and the hidden Zuko were in the inside of the ring, watching. Luke looked worried.

The captain leered at her, "As it is obvious that you cannot be a Firebender, I will allow you to posses a weapon of choice." He said, even though he knew she did not have any weapons.

Luke noticed a sword at the waist of a man near him and drew it, throwing it to Alex, "She'll return this in a minute. Alex, catch!"

She caught it easily in one hand, even though she had never held a sword before, much less fought with one. But once it touched her skin odd memories came back where she was fighting with a teacher.

The man grinned, "I'll start then, shall I?"

To her surprise he threw a large fireball at her.

Shocked, she raised the weapon and brought the sword down on top of the flame, causing it to go askew.

For a great amount of time this went on, and Iroh noticed that she never once tired, although the battle was fierce.

But it was the final blow that astounded not only him, but every person who watched, even hooded Zuko.

As another stream of fire came her way she angled the sword just right in the path of the flame. It reflected back and struck the man upside the head, causing him to double over in pain. He was not marked but he was gasping from the pain of the heat.

She handed the weapon back to the man she had "borrowed" it from, "Thank you sir,"

The crowd dispersed and Iroh turned to her, "No proof eh? I think I saw enough right now to fully convince me that you are capable of handling such a task. Welcome to the crew."

She gasped. "I can never repay you enough Iroh. But where is the rest of the crew."

He smiled, "On the ship, waiting."

Zuko looked at his uncle sharply but Iroh smiled. He had been hiding the fact that he had a full crew and a ship waiting from his nephew. He had wanted to locate a few more people who would better suit them for battle than the crew. He had known Zuko would have argued with him if he had told them, so he had kept it a secret.

Luke smiled, "great, let's go. Right Alex?"

She smiled nervously, "Uh yeah, let's go."

As she walked by Zuko with Luke she looked at him for a brief moment and smiled, locking her eyes with his.

Now there was no doubt in his mind that she knew.

* * *

Josh and Tina reached a small town near the middle of the Earth Kingdom; the large mountain loomed over them as they entered the gates after first traversing over a large ditch that had been placed near the entrance.

People smiled at them as they walked through, and an odd man wearing bright red shoes approached them.

"Ah, Aunt Wu told us you would be coming," he showed them into a large building with a round door.

Josh automatically turned to Tina for answers, "Aunt Wu?"

Tina grinned, "She's a fortune teller, good one too. She might be able to tell us where the others are."

A strange girl with very frizzy hair smiled at them when they walked in, "Hello, I'm—"

"Meng," Tina said politely, "May we speak to Aunt Wu please?"

Meng stared at her for a moment, her mouth dry, before she stood up straight and said, "I'm sorry, only one person may see Aunt Wu at a time." She looked away from the frightening girl and turned to Josh, "You may go in,"

Josh looked at Tina quickly, not really sure what he was supposed to ask. But before he could ask Tina what it was _he _was supposed to ask, he was whisked away into a back room, where an unusual looking woman was sitting cross-legged on the floor, meditating with her eyes shut.

"Welcome Josh, please, sit." She said without even opening her eyes.

'Too bad Kyle isn't here,' he thought with a smile as he sat down across from her, 'he's bent on the fact that there's no such thing as psychics.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him, "Well dear, what is it you want to know?"

A million thoughts raced through his mind. _Where are my friends? How do we get home? How do we get to the North Pole? Am I an earthbender? Does Alex like me…?_

He blinked. He couldn't believe he had just thought that. Why had he thought that? He didn't like Alex that way…right?

But right now he had bigger things to worry about. He thought about asking how many questions he could ask, but then the answer might be one…and he would have already asked one.

He started to ask where his friends were, but stopped. Didn't he already know? Kyle was in the water tribe no doubt…and Alex…

He froze; he just realized that for some reason he had thought she was not here. But there was no doubt that she was. But where was she? Was it more important to know that?

She seemed to know what he was thinking, "You can ask all the questions you like. Your mind is full of them, and I can ease those troubles."

He hesitated, "Where are the rest of my friends?"

She inhaled deeply and thought for a moment, "Your friend Kyle is in the Northern Water Tribe with the Avatar. At the moment he is with him. Your friend Alex…" she cast a quick smile at him and he looked away uncomfortably, "Your friend Alex is in a Fire Nation port. She has just been offered a job by—"

"_What?_" he asked, astonished, "She's in the _Fire Nation_?"

She sighed, "Yes she is,"

"How do we meet up with her?" he asked eagerly.

She sighed again, "I was about to tell you that. Now where was I…? Oh yes, she has been offered a job on a vessel that will eventually get her to the North Pole. Your best bet is to meet her there, and stay until she arrives."

She looked at him, "I sense there is something else on your mind; do you wish to share?"

It was true, he had been thinking about that thought, the one with Alex. How did he really feel about her? He thought about asking but didn't.

Instead he asked, "Where is…" he blanked out. Damn. What was the Prince's name? Oh yes, he could just ask that…

"Where is the Prince of the Fire nation?" he asked.

She smiled, "Oh yes, Prince Zuko. I saw him not to long ago. He dropped in for a visit. He's dead." She lied to him. She had been sent a message by the Spirit Alenexian, the Fire Spirit. If anyone was to ask this question she was to reply that the Prince was dead. And Aunt Wu didn't argue with the Spirits, they gave her power after all.

Josh stood, "Thank you for your wisdom,"

"Well?" Tina asked when he came out.

For a moment he almost told her where _both_ of their friends were. But he realized that the news of her friend being in the Fire Nation – and most likely then a fire citizen – might cause her to distress. She had told him many times on their recent travels that she despised the Fire Nation and all who were children of it.

Yeah, maybe she was better off not knowing, for now at least.

"Kyle is in the North Pole. We should go there as soon as possible, he's found the avatar. Not that he knows who the Avatar is of course."

Tina grinned, "Great. Let's get going then. See you Meng!" she waved cheerfully.

Meng watched the strange girl and the handsome boy leave before muttering, "Floozy."

* * *

(AN: right now we are going to temporarily abandon Kyle for a while, don't worry, he's safe and sound. For a while we are going to focus solely on Alex and Luke and the crew. They have a lot more going on right now. So for the next few chapters expect to see very little of Josh, Tina, and Kyle.) lol 


	6. Not What It Seems

ok, first of all, I know this will be the third chapter today, but I needed to do it before I forgot. lol. if you go to my page and click on the link to my "homepage" you will find my putfil account. below there are two things labeled avatarmusic video. i sugest you check these out lol, drowning lessons is by my chemical romance and the vid is asorta sad one about sokka/eua. miss independant is by kelly clarkson, and regardless of what you feel about her you should totally take a look at the really sad aang/katara but mostly eua/sokka vid. it made me cry, and i made it. lol. that's all for now, i love my reviewers! especially you, guardiangirl1!

* * *

Alex gazed admirably at the grand ship before her. Sure it was small in comparison to the other ships of the Fire Navy, but to her it was enormous, as she had never set foot on a large ship in her life. Sure, she had been on small reef boats down near her house, but other than that this was her first experience with something this large.

Iroh was standing beside her, "It's a step down from our previous ship, but it's nice."

"I think it's amazing," she gushed. She noticed Zuko standing next to her but pretended not to notice. She did know it was him, but for some reason she had felt crushed when Iroh had told her he was dead. But when she had looked into the Prince's eyes she had known it was him, and she had felt a swooping feeling in her stomach, but she did not know why.

The interior of the ship was even grander. It was obvious Iroh had sparred little in the purchasing of this ship.

The crew was friendly, even though at first they seemed shocked that there was a woman on board. They now tried their best to impress her with their manners whenever she was present. In private Iroh told her this was a very good reason for having a woman on board, and the other shippers had been daft and stupid.

This made her feel very happy.

As they left the port Alex stood on the now, leaning her arms against the rail, looking out at the ocean ahead of her.

She heard someone stand beside her and looked over to see the still hooded Zuko staring out at the sea also.

"I used to hate the sea," he said quietly, making no move to disguise his voice, "But I suppose it grows on you after awhile."

She looked out over the sea again, "I can't imagine how anyone could hate it. It's so beautiful, so peaceful."

"But it can be violent and cruel," he said bitterly, "It can take lives away,"

She was surprised that he was speaking like this, without shouting. She was also taken aback at his silent hostility to the ocean. What had it ever done to him?

"Do you know who I am?" he asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Yes," she said, "I knew the first time I looked at you."

"We're going to tell the crew in about an hour. There isn't much they can do after that." He was still staring out at the sea. He turned to look at her briefly and noticed in shock that her hood was down. Her hair was tucked in the folded hood just behind her head, but now he could truly see her face. She had not hidden her face because of blemishes or scars, that's for sure. She was—dare he say it? _Possibly_ a bit attractive. But that was going out on a limb here.

She bowed her head a little, thinking. She turned to go but stopped when she was facing his side, "I'm glad you're not dead," she whispered, "I'll see you in an hour—your highness." She fully turned and walked into the depths of the ship, but before she had turned away from him she had touched his arm lightly.

He was still looking over the sea, but he was thinking. Why was she glad? Did she—care?

He shook this thought away and thought about what his father had told him when he was thirteen.

"_No girl will ever really care about you, they just want your money and a chance at the crown, do **not** fall for this, do you understand me?"_

"I understand," he had said then, and said now. Of course she was only sucking up to him because he was royalty. And not only that, but unmarried royalty. She obviously wanted to take a chance at his crown.

Besides, he thought to himself, who could ever really care about a banished Prince?

_An obnoxious, self centered, obsessed, hot headed, **deformed** prince._ His conscience said.

And although he hated to admit it, his mind was right. There was no way there wasn't some hidden motive in her actions.

He grumbled to himself and went to find his Uncle.

Alex was roaming the ship, attempting to find Luke. An hour had passed since her odd conversation with the Prince and she needed Luke to come to the upper deck to hear the news about his employer.

Instead she bumped into a smiling Iroh.

"Hello there," he said softly.

She smiled, "Hello Iroh. I was looking for someone."

Iroh nodded and then looked at her seriously, "You know, don't you." He said it as a statement rather then a question.

She knew what he was talking about, "yes," she said nervously.

"I saw you talking to him up on deck," he looked thoughtful, "It's been a long time since he has spoken to anyone for that long without issuing an order or becoming angry."

"He sure seemed angry," she muttered.

Iroh smiled, "Very well. If you are looking for Luke he is in the chamber section of the ship." He pointed her in the right direction and she hurried down the corridor.

* * *

She found him inspecting a medium sized bed in the middle of a small room. He smiled as she came in, "Take a look at my quarters."

She laughed, "You get your own room? Why?"

He shrugged, "We all do. We're mostly running on a skeleton crew you know, so all the rooms reserved for captains and generals and such are just enough to fit—" he looked nervous, "most of us."

She was about to ask him what he meant when she remembered why she had sought him out in the first place.

She grabbed his arm, "Come on. Our employer has an announcement for us." As they walked she purposely failed to mention who exactly their employer was, he would find out soon enough.

They all lined up according to rank. Alex was surprised that they were placed in the middle; she had thought they would be near the end. If not _the_ end.

She wondered why she and Luke were ranked higher than the cook and the servants. As far as she knew, they offered no exact services. I fact, she didn't even know what they were supposed to do here.

Iroh was standing I front of them with the hidden Zuko.

"I have an announcement to make," he said in a commanding voice, "I would like you all to meet the man in charge her. You are to take orders from him, me, or one of your higher ranking officers."

Am I an officer? She wondered. If so, she was definitely at the bottom. It was also now that she noticed she ranked higher than Luke.

"Yeah," she whispered to Luke, "You have to take orders from me."

He glared at her and Iroh continued, "Please show your respect to him. And be warned that if any news whatsoever leaks out about his being here, or being alive in the first place, that person will be punished."

Luke looked excited "I wonder if it's the great Admiral Zhao, he was supposed to have been killed at the attempted siege of the North."

Alex only smiled a little and looked at Zuko. He was staring straight ahead, not meeting anyone's eyes. But for a moment his eyes flickered to hers and he stared at her before his uncle interrupted.

"So please, show your respect to my nephew, Prince Zuko."

Every single person in the ground either gasped or stared in shock. Everyone except Alex. Luke noticed this and eyed her suspiciously before he noticed the Prince again.

He had taken off his hood and the cloth covering his mouth. Alex was horrified (although she didn't know why…) to see that his face had bruises and small cuts across it. She remembered the last episode and realized that that was what he had looked like.

Zuko saw her face and noticed with a mixed feeling of satisfaction and dismay that she had almost reeled away from his face.

_You see? You see what I told you? She does think you're deformed, that you're hideous. _

No, he thought, she wasn't reeling. She seemed almost—sad.

_It's a trick. Don't fall for it._

He nodded to no one in particular. Of course she would think that, who wouldn't?

Iroh still had a calm face on, "Now, don't you all have business to attend to?"

Bit by bit everyone left, even Luke left, but only after he had given her a suspicious look.

Before she knew it she looked around and saw Zuko standing in the middle of the bow, looking forward again.

She approached him slowly and silently, "Are you all right?" she asked softly, "Is there anything I can do?" she asked tediously.

He looked at her, surprised to see her here again. She must be pretty desperate to still make a go at him after she had seen his face.

"I'm fine. I don't need your help." he turned away.

She bit her lip, "All right, I'll be going then. Good evening My Lord,"

After she had left he turned and watched her disappear below deck.

* * *

She was walking down the hallway when Luke popped his head out of the nearest door and – grabbing her arm tightly – pulled her inside.

Closing the door behind him he pushed her a little as he secured it, making sure it was securely closed. Not locked, none of these doors had locks.

She stumbled a bit before she sat down on the bed to keep her balance. She looked at him in shock as he turned and glared at her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he hissed.

"Tell you what?" she asked, confused.

He came close to her and placed his hands on either side of her legs. Leaning forward, he caused her to lean away from his face.

"You knew he was Zuko. You knew and you didn't tell me!"

"I didn't mean to, I wasn't thinking!" she was forced to lean even farther back, and thus lost her balance.

Startled, she threw her arms around his neck to prevent herself from falling backwards.

He was startled to see her do this, and they both looked at each other with shocked faces.

She bent her head and said very softly, "I barely know you,"

She turned her eyes up and met his. It was then he realized how truly beautiful she was. Instinctively he started to move closer to her, but before he could get much closer the door opened.

Luke and Alex both looked at the door. Alex was horrified to see Iroh standing there, looking very uncomfortable. And worse than that, but Zuko was standing behind him, eyebrows raised.

Alex let go of Luke and they both stood up sheepishly. Alex wanted to smack herself in the forehead, she knew what this situation must look like and even though she knew nothing of the sort was going on – or was going to happen – she felt so embarrassed. And she knew she was probably blushing to top it all off.

Iroh cleared his throat, "I uh, wish to speak to both of you—but if I'm interrupting something I'll come back later…"

"No!" Alex said, "We were just—arguing about something." No use lying, she thought.

Iroh nodded, hiding his smile, "Well first of all, may I speak to Luke please Alex?" she nodded quickly and Iroh left, leaving her alone with Zuko.

_You see,_ his mind told him, _you see, she doesn't care about you, it was all a con._

He looked uncomfortable, "I'm supposed to tell you about the ship's rules…about women on board."

Alex cursed inside her mind as he went on, "Well, I'm sorry to tell you that women are not allowed in men's rooms at night or during the day with the door closed."

She was outraged, "_nothing_ was going on. I told you, we were arguing."

"Well, I must have missed the memo that said arguing involved wrapping your arms around someone else." He snapped.

She shot back at him, "Well maybe you should have been here for the whole conversation!" she was furious now, "The only reason we were fighting is because of you!"

He scoffed, "Me? How could I possibly be responsible for this?"

She glared at him, "Because. Since I was too decent as to not tell him who you were he became severely angry with me."

Then they just glared at each other for the longest time until Alex spoke up, "About my quarters,"

"What about them?" he said sarcastically.

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" she said pointedly, trying to control her temper.

He leered at her, "Well, since the only available room is reserved for when we find a captain—"

"A captain for what? The ship?" she asked bitterly.

"No, for my firebenders." He said back to her in the same, calm voice, "but since you are neither of them you can't have it. And after seeing your little display just now…" he smiled at her outraged look, "After that I don't want to risk having you out of my sight. You'll be sleeping on a cot in my room."

She glared at him, how could he be so cruel. It was then that she gave a very quiet gasp and stared at him sadly.

He stared at her, "What?"

She took a deep breath, "Nothing your highness." She looked away, "except that just now—you sounded just like Zhao."

Before he could respond Iroh came and traded off, taking her with him. As Zuko turned to watch her go he only caught a glimpse of her tying her hair back when he turned to tell the boy Luke the same thing. But as he did he couldn't help feeling that she was right.

* * *

heehee, hope that was enough action for you, and just to make a note: NO, this is not going to turn out where Zuko is a big softie and there is a big twist where they are forced to sleep together, hence the cot. I wanted to make a note of that because that is the usual plot of fanfics like this. i still love you all! lol 


	7. Wandering Minds

yay! whoot! lol, time for my first ever disclaimer! obviously I do not own any rights to the actual idea of Avatar, because if I did I wouldn't be wasting my time writing this story. However, I do own ever single OC in this story.

a new thing, At the beginning of some chapters I might list a song. If you own that song, I sugest you play it while reading, because it either a) goes along with what is happening b) a character is singing it or c) both a and b. but it will never be just B. now, for da first song! (I do not own it XD)

**_Drowning Lessons_**

**My Chemical Romance**

* * *

She walked with Iroh down the hall, silent.

"so, what do you think of Zuko now that you've met him in person?" Iroh said with a smile.

Even though she knew in her heart that he did not always talk to people the same way, she said what she felt now, "He's not any different than what people say he is. I've always been told he was a heartless young man. Now I know they were right," she sighed, "I guess I'd always hoped he'd be different than Ozai, being next in line and all."

She gasped when she realized she had said that to the Fire Lord's brother.

Iroh only smiled softly, "I'm sorry you feel that way. But trust me when I say he isn't always like that."

She smiled, "I know Iroh, believe me I know."

"Anyway, I brought you out here to talk to you about training."

She eyed him, "training?"

He looked at her, "Yes. Every person on this ship trains together, so far I am the only master on this ship. But since you can not bend…well, I have arranged for you to be trained in the art of swordsmanship."

She nodded, "You never mentioned what you wanted us to do while we were here, Luke and me."

Iroh smiled at her, "I want you to be members of the fighting forces. As you know we are trying to capture the Avatar."

She nodded, even though inside she was panicking. She was going to be trained to fight the Avatar?

"So when will I begin training?" she asked.

"Tomorrow. And your friend Luke will be bending with my nephew." He grinned at her, "By the way, what was going on in there?"

She groaned and told him what had happened. He laughed, "Good girl, loyalty like that is a good virtue. Now, let's go get some food. I have a feeling the cook is ready to serve dinner."

* * *

Iroh, being the eldest, had an elite position at the head of the table. But other than that you could sit wherever you wanted.

Iroh and Alex were the first to arrive of the "fighters". The servants ate in another part of the ship, so it was quiet in the room.

Iroh sat down and motioned for Alex to sit at his right side. She was shocked for a moment as she sat down, but then remembered that you could sit anywhere.

"You lived in the capital?" he asked with interest.

She nodded and helped herself to fried goose, "we lived in the main square. Or alongside it anyway." She sighed, "We had a great view of the palace gardens from the roof. I remember sitting up there with my older brother and just _watching_ the people inside the walls." She stopped and glanced at Iroh sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that."

He smiled, "It's all right."

She was also shocked that she had made up such an elaborate story. In fact she had gotten so into the story that for a moment she had seen a memory of the situation. How funny.

They talked for some more; Iroh shared funny stories about his family, and even one about his nephew.

"And then he was so angry at the guards for attempting to exterminate the poor beasts he collected all the stray cats and brought them into the palace!" he finished in a hushed voice, smiling.

She giggled, then sighed, "I wonder what happened."

"To Zuko? Well he—" Iroh started to tell her about Zuko's scar but she interrupted.

"No, I know about—about that," she looked up at him, "I mean, I wonder what changed. I wonder what happened to make him change from one moment defending an entire infantry of soldiers in the war room to hunting down a young boy." She gave a very small laugh, "I guess it must be after what happened. But I wonder sometimes. You know, if he'd be different now."

Iroh kept the enormous shock hidden from his face. Only people who had been in that room knew why Zuko had been forced to duel his father. It was impossible that she knew about it. But he pushed this thought aside for later viewing.

Bit by bit more people came into the room, smiling at Alex as they took their seats and began eating.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zuko and Luke were walking down the corridor to the dining hall. Since they had invested in a smaller, more low key ship, they were unable to host a private dining room for Zuko and his uncle.

They did not talk as they walked; only stared straight ahead. Each man had a different thought train cruising about his mind. But they all had one thing in common.

Luke was thinking about what had happened with Alex. Had he really wanted to—kiss her? Right now he didn't know. All he knew was that he barely knew her, but somehow it felt like he had known her for years.

He didn't know why, but the moment she had first looked up at him, wet and frightened, he had felt totally at ease with her. As they had walked to the port he had told her things he could never talk to anyone else about. About how he hated the war, how he was angry at his father for leaving for war, and how selfish he felt for feeling anger toward his father for being caught. All these things had tumbled out of his mouth and he didn't know why.

But in that room all his feelings of anger and hatred had fled his body as he had looked into her eyes. For a moment he had connected with her in a way he would never connect with another person as long as he lived. But that moment was shattered when she had uttered those four words.

"_I barely know you."_

Oh how those words had cut into his skin like a hot knife through butter. Every absent and crazy thought fled his mind as he looked into her saddened eyes. At that moment he regretted every harsh word he had said to her. He was not normally like that, regretting things. But something about her made him want to please her, to impress her, to cater to her every whim—event though she asked for nothing from him.

He sighed.

* * *

Zuko too was thinking about his own experience with the girl. It had been many years since he had seen a girl with such a spirit, one that could rival his own. The closest he had come was that Waterbender who traveled with the Avatar.

But his mind was not kind to him.

_She's nothing like you. She has loyalty. She kept your secret from her friend. She's kind and compassionate. She does things for a reason. You don't deserve her._

He blinked. What? Did he ever think he _wanted_ to deserve her? No, impossible. And what happened to her being a con artist?

_That's just it. You saw her with him. It's obvious she doesn't care. You were foolish to ever think she cared about you for anything besides your money and your title. Face it; no woman could ever love such a cruel, heartless man._

'I don't care. I don't need—_love_. Who does? And I definitely don't want it from her. I'm alone because I'm strong, and I'm strong because I'm alone. This is a war, there isn't time for that.'

_Then why did you feel so strange when she first looked into her eyes at the port? When she touched your arm you felt something. It was foolish but it was there._

'It's only because it's been so long—'

_So long since **what**? Since you've seen a girl? Please, you never had those thoughts when you saw the Waterbender. _

'She never looked at me that way. She never touched me that way. She was an enemy to me, and a threat to my nation.'

_You know why she never looked at you that way? Oh, maybe because you're trying to kill a twelve year old boy. Oh yes, not kill him sorry. **Capture and torture** him. That was your motive I believe._

'Stop it. You're messing with my mind.'

_I **am** your mind._

'Nothing is going on. I don't feel anything except anger when I look at her. I want to—to—'

_To kill her._

'No, that's not it at all. I want to strangle her. But I guess that's the same isn't it?

_Obviously. You'll see. First it starts off when she touches you gently, looks into your eyes and smiles. Then comes the gentle embrace, the long and soothing embrace. After that she'll kiss you. It all adds up, she just wants your money and your title. That's all._

'That's not true. I'm not stupid enough to fall for that. I'll never touch her in anyway. Unless I'm choking her.'

_That's exactly why no one cares. No one cares Zuko, no one ever cares._

He sighed.

* * *

They entered the dining room to see most of the crew eating. Zuko noticed his uncle sitting at the end and he himself took his usual place at his left hand. He looked over the table and was surprised to see Alex, talking quietly and stiffly with Luke, who was seated next to her.

He had half expected her to show up to dinner in an improper manner. There were many rules involving the dress code of women aboard navy ships.

But no, she was dressed and appeared exactly the way she was supposed to.

Her hair was tied behind her head in a customary bun – although her's way a bit loose and messy, but that didn't matter – and her bangs were placed across her face and tucked behind her left ear. Her black sweatshirt – he realized he still didn't know what she was wearing underneath – was zipped up to just below her collarbone.

He silently mussed his approval. Woman's hair was to be cut short or pulled back in a bun of some sort. Clothing did not matter as much for casual wear, but at dinner it had to be decent, and thus the high zippered jacket. They were not required to wear their armor at dinner. He himself wore his usual casual wear (Long red shirt, dark pants, and low boots).

She also seemed to know that the left hand of the highest ranking officer (Iroh in this case) was reserved for either the second highest rank or important people. He of course took this place.

She ate daintily, and he noticed with semi amusement that his men had seen her eating and were mimicking her the best they could. Unlike the usual manner of naval crew – who ate quickly and messily – they were eating quickly, yet with better manners.

Alex glanced up at Zuko. She knew it was custom for women to remain silent at the dinner table unless being spoken to. But that was all right. She had nothing to say.

Iroh spoke to her though, and she was obliged to answer, "Tell me, how do you know so much about navy customs?" he was referring to her manner and dress.

She smiled, "My father joined the navy many years ago. He taught me and my brother everything I knew." She once again saw a memory in her mind. But it couldn't be a memory, right? For she was making this all up as she went along.

Iroh smiled, "What was your father's name?"

She looked at him nervously, "well I—"

Zuko interrupted, "why would he teach a girl about the fire navy?" he asked.

She looked at him sharply, "Because he had no one else to teach."

"You said he taught your brother? What happened to him then?" he said back.

"He's dead," she said softly. She turned to Iroh, thus she was unable to see the look of surprise on Zuko's face, "Excuse me Iroh, I think I'll get some air." She bowed her head and left.

After she had gone Iroh turned to his nephew and shook his head sadly.

* * *

Iroh found her on the deck, leaning against the railing again, looking over the horizon at the pitch black sky. She was silent, but he then noticed her signing to herself softly.

"A kiss goodbye, a twisted shell, as white things and roses fall at you feet. We say goodbye, the hundredth time. And tomorrow we'll do it again…"

She stopped and sighed to herself softly.

"You have a beautiful voice, have you considered joining music night?" he said with a smile.

She gasped and turned around, "Iroh! You frightened me."

"I would hope not," he said, still smiling. He then frowned however, "I need to ask you a very serious question,"

"Yes sir?" she asked cautiously.

"Were you there?" that was all he said. Pure and simple. As they looked at each other they both understood each other.

But two people watched who did not. Above the main deck, just inside the ship captain's quarters, Luke watched. He was alone, he had been asked to watch the wheel for a moment whilst the captain took care of some brief errands.

He watched her intently, not sure what Iroh was talking about.

And just across the deck Zuko watched from the doorway. For some reason he had wanted to come up to the deck and now he watched curiously as his uncle spoke with the girl.

Alex looked at him sadly and then turned her head, "Yes. I was." She looked up at the sky, "It was so horrid. I couldn't sleep for weeks just thinking about it." She remembered seeing the Agnai Kie, but she saw the memory in real life. More and more frequently she found herself remembering these things, and not for the first time she wondered if for some reason, when she had dropped her, if she had been given a past as well.

Iroh nodded sadly, "That's all I wanted to know. Good night Alex," he started to turn but looked at her again, "You're a beautiful girl Alex, you shouldn't filter your life away on a ship like this."

"Goodnight Iroh," she said softly as he turned and went below deck via the on deck hatch.

Luke too left as the captain returned. The captain couldn't see nor hear anything that was happening below, because he simply did not try to, unlike Luke.

Zuko was now alone with the girl again. He approached her at the rail just as he had done so the first time.

She was staring out at the sea, signing again.

"And back there I felt it where no one could see. A lifeless pelt into this world, I stared as this moment was held for me…"

Zuko felt an odd feeling in his stomach. Memories came back to him, when he had been in the palace. He didn't know for certain, but he was almost sure that he had heard that same song being sung just beyond the palace walls.

She turned and looked at him, "What do you want?" she asked.

"I—" actually, he didn't really know what it was he was going to say once she had faced him. But she spoke up instead.

"I think I've solved our housing problem," she said dryly.

He raised his brows, telling her to go on.

She nodded, "Yeah, I'll sleep in the prison hold."

It was very silent. For a moment Zuko thought she was joking. But the look on her stubborn face told him she was dead serious.

"Do you resent me so much that you'd rather sleep in a dark, musty, uncomfortable prison hold than on a cot in my room?"

She shrugged, "I see no difference."

He wanted to do a million things right now. He wanted to hit her laugh, cry, run, scream…die.

He exhaled sharply, "Look, I don't like this idea any better than you do…"

"What about naval rules?" she asked, looking at him sharply.

_Damn._

"It doesn't count right now," when she rolled her eyes he only glared at her, "I don't care if you stay out here al night. But you have to sleep sometime. When you're ready there's a cot in the corner. Don't worry about me, I'll be sleeping."

As he turned to leave he heard her say to herself, "No one cares, no one ever cares."

A creepy, tingling feeling washed over him when she said that, but he only continued down the steeps to his room.

And as she stood on the bow of this ship she whispered seven words, "I wish everything was back to normal."

* * *


	8. Heated Passion

**(AN: YAY! Finally we get to the others. Sorry bout the wait….had to get all that in. if you haven't noticed I'm semi favoring her. But when (if) they get back together things will change.**

**I know some of you think I'm going to write a romance fic where Zuko gets all soft after awhile and then totally changes his personality and they fall in love blah blah blah. On the contrary, I intend to stay as true to his personality as possible (using my good friend as inspiration, lol). So don't expect any loving Zuko anytime soon.)**

* * *

Josh walked with Tina silently as they traversed through yet another forest.

'When are all these trees going to end?' he thought to himself.

Tina was thinking also, but her thoughts were more productive than his. She was brainstorming ideas on how to get to the North Pole as quickly as possible. Last time they had stopped and asked she had discovered that they were only a fourth of the way up the earth kingdom, and at the rate they were going she wasn't sure if they would make it to the North Pole before Aang and the others left. Of course, they _were_ going to the earth kingdom anyhow, so maybe they weren't in such a ruse.

However, she had a feeling that while Josh had been in there with Aunt Wu he had found something out that he was neglecting to tell her. Of course, it might not be any of her business. On the other hand, maybe it was. But now wasn't the opportune moment to inquire about such knowledge. She could save that for when they were both bored out of their minds.

'What am I saying?' she thought, 'we _are_ bored out of our minds.'

Maybe he had been told he was an earthbender. But why would he be so silent about it? After all, if she had discovered that she would not only have leapt for joy but told everyone within the vicinity of the town the good news. But she had an ever deeper feeling that whatever he had been told was not good news at all.

Josh was wondering about what had happened to Alex. He had stupidly neglected to ask the fortune teller who she had been offered a job by, and if she had even accepted it for that matter. The only good news was that the Fire Prince – Zuko was his name, now that he knew – was dead. Of course, he was saving that juicy bit of information for when she was angry and needed to be steered clear of an explosion.

But now she seemed almost livid with a silent anger he could not decipher. She would not look him in the eye, and only spoke to him when she needed his help, or to stubbornly ask him to please pass the water canteen, even though she had her own strapped to her waist.

_She knows_. Was his first thought. But he shook it away, how could she possibly know? How could she even have an inkling about what was happening? Of course she didn't know.

_But she suspects something. You shouldn't be hiding things like that from her. You should tell her that her best friend's in the Fire Nation. You shouldn't be hiding it from her, she'll be even angrier when she finds out you kept it from her all this time._

'Unless I never tell her,' he thought smugly. That was that, he had convinced himself that even he himself knew nothing of the now Fire bound girl. He had even willed himself to believe that maybe she never existed, that the only person they were trying to find was Kyle.

His thoughts turned to his friend and he wondered how he was doing.

* * *

Actually, Kyle was fairing better than all the rest put together. He was currently enjoying another one of the North Pole's fabulous feasts. He was laughing with Sokka, playing games with Aang, and occasionally flirting with Katara. It still fascinated him to see the Waterbenders perform for the feasters. He had given up all hope of trying to explain to himself how it was possible for them to move water around the air like that. It was incredible. Simply remarkable.

Everyone had quickly adapted to the newcomer with open arms, after seeing that he was a friend, a fellow water tribe citizen. Someone who was not born of fire.

His thoughts turned once more to the others. There was no doubt in his mind that they were here. But were they coming to find him? If he was were he thought he was (and he had confirmed his suspicions when he had found out that Aang was called "The Avatar") then he was worried that perhaps he would not be found. After all, if he had suddenly be sucked into a raging vortex into _his_ favorite show, he'd be more apt to explore and have fun than to rescue his frightened friends.

Not that he was frightened. On the contrary he felt utterly at peace. Nothing could be any better.

"I bet the others are relaxing on a beach right now, sun on their faces, waves at their feet. I bet they haven't worked in days."

* * *

Alex awoke two days later to the aches and pains from the grueling training sessions she had had to endure. Every bone and muscle in her body hurt all over, and she was actually late, so she would have to be at her lesson in only a few minutes.

Not to mention the fact that the "cot" she was sleeping on was more like a lumpy ole sack. Whoever had said she'd be more comfortable on this thing? Oh yes, that was Zuko.

She sat up and looked over at his bed, he was gone, not that it surprised her. He was an extremely early riser. She shook her head, he was probably up on deck at this very moment, training for hours on end. And with all that anger he kept pent up inside (well, the anger he didn't unleash on her anyway), he was sure to be at his peak performance up there. She wouldn't be surprised if she saw Luke later on that day with several burns on his forehead.

She dressed quickly and started to walk down the long, empty, and very cold corridor to the stairs that opened into the bright, hopefully sunny day. For the last three days it had poured non stop throughout this part of this ocean. The upper and a few decks below had completely flooded, and they had spent hours drying out wet items. She had almost wished that Zuko's ca bin had flooded so that she could have spent the night elsewhere.

But she wasn't worrying about that now. As she came into the sunlight-arms wrapped around her waist, her jacket zipped up tightly and her hood over her face-she basked in the pleasant glow of the sun. That meant that today was the first day she would be safe in taking off her jacket. Already she felt the sun making her hot.

She looked across the bow from where she was standing by the door. The fire bending practice was running a bit late, and they were finishing up.

Eagerly, she shed her coat and placed it in a small box by the door for this purpose. She walked to the nearby rail and hoped onto it, sitting atop the upper bar. She watched enviously and also in wonder as the men bended their natural element. Balls of fire frequently shot through the air, and it seemed almost effortless.

They were taking turns doing solo fights. In a solo fight one person was selected, and the others would attack one or two or even all at a time. It was incredible to watch, but she had only seen the elder men do this feat.

She was startled yet somewhat thrilled to see that it was Zuko's turn. She saw he was relaxed, yet his muscles were tense, ready for any and all attacks.

All at once streams of brilliant fire shot at him. For a moment she shielded her eyes from the intense glare. But when she looked again she was surprised to see that he was handling this just fine. Several of the men had been hit by the fire, which meant they were "disqualified." Now she saw with a startled amusement that the only two opponents remaining were Lieutenant Jang and Luke.

Jang did not last long and was eliminated almost immediately. But what surprised her most was that the mini battle between Zuko and Luke not only went on for a great period of time, but with a great ferocity like she had never seen. She of course did not know for sure, but she suspected that these scrimmages were not supposed to be this violent. It appeared that each boy was actually trying to injure the other. In fact, it now resembled a full on Agnai Kai.

She got down from the rail and took a few steps forward. A few of the previous fighters were also watching in concern. She stood next to Iroh, who was watching very tediously, as if he might have to break it up at any given moment.

Luke dodged and extremely large stream of fire and sent the same one back in one fluent motion. Zuko jumped over this and sent another one at Luke, startling him. He took a few steps backwards in an attempt to escape the blaze. But he never made it.

He was hit with the full force of the blow, and he fell to the ground with a sickening thud. Alex immediately tensed, waiting and praying for him to get up. His body moved to get up, but slumped back to the ground as he moaned.

That was all that she could take. She rushed forward to his side. Kneeling by him she touched his arm gently. "Luke, Luke!" she said. But he did not respond. She noticed his face had several burn marks and her heart almost stopped dead. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. Zuko couldn't have killed him, he wouldn't have.

Or would he? Did she really know him well enough to say?

He opened his eyes and groaned. She sat him up gently and he touched his aching head, "Did you see all that?"

She nodded frightfully, "Everything."

He smiled weakly, "I'm ok Alex. A bit sore maybe but all right."

Zuko had felt such an exhilarating rush when he had knocked his opponent down. He did not know why, but he had wanted to—to kill him. But then he had looked over at his uncle and was surprised to see Alex there. It would have shocked him to see her without her jacket too, but the look on her face was enough to destroy all other thoughts. She had looked so terrified for Luke that it made Zuko feel a mixture of despite and regret.

No, he didn't regret hurting him. But why had he? What had possessed him to? Because he had fought back? No, he was trying to defend himself when he saw Zuko was serious.

Now he looked at her, embracing her friend, her body still shaking from the shock. He didn't know what to think anymore. And his uncle looked more than ashamed.

He suddenly wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

* * *

They went on through the course of their day in a tense manner. Zuko had been walking across the deck when he saw Alex's lesson, which she had postponed until much later that night.

It was a beautiful thing to watch, especially in the brilliant light of the setting sun. short swords flew through the air gracefully, yet deadly. She was fighting one man, much larger and older than her. But he saw in her eyes a fiery hate that he knew could only be for him, for what he had done.

She was amazingly skilled, and her muscles stood out in the light. Her chest heaved a little as she took deep breathes to regain her stamina. She was wearing her jacket again, although it was unzipped much more. It startled him a little to notice that still he saw no other clothing underneath.

But her trainer smiled, "I think you are ready for the next step."

She bowed her head, "I'm more than ready."

Four other men walked out, Zuko's soldiers. They were holding swords and were heavily armored. This made him curious, and he abandoned his other tasks to lean against the wall and watch. Did they really consider her much of a threat that they were completely armored? She was ok at it, but not all that good compared to others he had met. If she even _survived_ this round he might consider her abilities again.

She nodded and sheaved her sword. He looked on curiously, but his silent question was answer when to his surprise she fully unzipped her jacket and, pulling it off, threw it aside.

He gulped. He hadn't been expecting that. His eyes were naturally drawn to the low neckline of her tight fitting top. He forced his eyes away though, to watch her perform.

What happened was unbelievable, she was fighting all four of them while her trainer looked on. But she was defeating them as if there were twenty others fighting with her. And when they had collapsed she had barely broken a sweat.

Her teacher smiled, "I am very impressed." Neither of them noticed Zuko watching.

Her trained was none other than Lieutenant Jang, the man who had fought Zuko previously.

As Alex un strapped her fighting bands from her wrists he asked very seriously, "Are you all right, you seemed very tense out there."

"I'm fine," she said coolly.

"Does it have to do with what happened today?"

She froze over the bandage box in the process of taking off her first one, as she continued she swallowed, "Why would that affect me?"

He shook his head, "I know you won't admit it. No one expects you to. But I wanted to tell you that I admire your fear for your friend. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did."

She closed her eyes, biting her lip as she started the other wrist.

"Fire, it is a beautiful thing to witness. I think it might be the most breathtaking bending art in the world."

She finished and turned to him, "I think it's horrid. Who would ever want to do such a thing," she sighed, "No matter what, fire is always burning something, that's how it stays alive. Whether it's oxygen or the flesh of a human being, it destroys."

Jang smiled, "You are very wise for your age. But tell me, what would you do if you were to suddenly become a bender?"

She laughed, "All right. Let's pretend for a moment I found out I could." She looked at him seriously, "I think I'd kill myself."

He sighed, "Have you ever attempted it?"

She scoffed, "Fire bending? No way, wouldn't dream of it."

"So you don't know if you can or not?" he said, "Interesting."

She gaped at him, "There is no way I'm—one of them."

He walked over to her, "Give me your hand."

Cautiously she handed her left hand over. He started to move it around slowly, making patterns in the air, "I want you to think of the strongest emotion in you right now, and when I release you I want you to exert that energy. Whether or not it creates fire, it can still be very powerful."

She did what he asked, feeling absurdly ridiculous. She had a flurry of mixed feelings. But the one that stood out most was sadness, and it gave her no energy. She opened her eyes and looked at him, "I told you nothing would happen. Goodnight Jang,"

Zuko quickly stepped inside the door as she went below deck. He wondered where she was going and followed a few moments later. She had walked far past his own room, where she was supposed to return at sunset.

* * *

She opened a nearby room and stepped inside, leaving the door ajar. Zuko stepped up to the crack and was angered at what he saw.

She was in Luke's room again, even though she knew the penalty for breaking such a rule. He was lying in bed, his face was badly burned Zuko noticed with satisfaction.

She walked over to his bedside and perched herself on the edge, by his arm. He opened his eyes and smiled, but suddenly frowned and sat up quickly, "what are you doing here?" he demanded.

She shushed him, "it's all right." She pulled out a small jar from her pocket.

He eyed it, "what is that?"

She smiled sadly, "Burn salve. Hold still." She dipped a finger in the cool gel and reached out to his forehead, she hesitated for a moment before gently applying the salve to his burns.

He hissed at first at the sting but relaxed, "thanks."

She smiled, "It's nothing really, turn around."

He eyed her, "Do you want to get kicked off?" he hissed.

She glared at him, "I'd rather swim than stay here any longer. Now do you want my help or not?"

He nodded and positioned himself in a cross-legged position on the bed, his back facing her.

She winced at the sight of the burns on his bare back. Some were much worse than she had expected. He was going to have some nice scars later on.

She climbed onto the bed and – walking on her knees – sat behind him.

She was close to her and he could feel her body heat behind him. He suddenly felt very self conscious at the moment. But when her fingers touched his back he closed his eyes and relaxed as her fingers massaged the gel onto his sores and across his back.

"So, how'd it go?" he asked, wincing slightly as she hit a tender spot.

"Sorry." She whispered as she touched the tender burn, "It was ok. I took down four guards." She laughed.

"Oh yes, _only_ four," he said in a mocking tone, even though they both knew he was joking.

"and then Jang tried to convince me I could fire bend," she laughed and applied the salve to the last burn, "turn around."

He turned and faced her. She was sitting on the bed, her legs tucked underneath her. He was serious now, "Well how do you know you can't?"

She laughed and replied, "Hold still, this might sting."

She took a larger glob and gently touched his chest with her fingers. He blinked slowly for a moment as she gently rubbed it in.

'He's very well built,' she thought briefly as she ran the gel over his abs. she gasped inside her mind and virtually smacked herself. What was she thinking?

She reached for his neck, and after she was done she started to pull away, but he gently grabbed her cool hand. He held it in front on him and smiled at her, "Hold out your hand,"

Normally she would have told him to forget it, but for some reason she felt no need. She obeyed, holding her palm face up near him.

He opened his hand and a small flame lit up his hand, she naturally leaned away from it but he soothed her, "It's all right. I won't hurt you."

She believed him. She watched in awe as he gently placed the small fire ball into her palm.

She felt no pain, no need to move away. In her heart she knew she wasn't bending, but every notion about firebending escaped her right then and there. She closed her hand gently and looked up at him, smiling, "It's amazing."

"Yeah, it is," he whispered. Somehow, he felt so natural in this situation, even though he was sitting only a few inches away from a beautiful girl who had just massaged half of his body, and he was also half naked. Yep, totally natural.

He got that feeling again, that funny feeling he had gotten when she had first been in this very room, on this very same bed. He knew right then and there that he was falling in love with his best friend.

And he wanted to kiss her, oh so badly.

She was looking at him in the dim light and felt the strangest feeling in the world. She felt lightheaded as she looked at him. Instinctively, she placed her hands on his muscular chest, shaking ever so slightly.

That was all he need. He drew her closer to him and bent down towards her.

She knew she had to do something, no matter what either of them wanted (and she wasn't even sure she knew what that was), she had to stop this.

She looked up at him and knew he wanted to kiss her. And for some reason she felt both afraid and thrilled. As he bent closer to her she whispered, "You'll need to apply that every night."

He looked at her, not sure why she had broken the moment. For a moment it had seemed like she had wanted this as much as he did.

He touched his forehead to her's, "Can't you help me?"

She pulled away and got off the bed saying, "I'm sure you'll manage, good night Luke,"

* * *

Zuko walked quickly back to his room, using a shortcut. He was feeling so many things right now. Outrage, spite, anger, confusion, resentment—jealousy?

_You see, you see what I told you? She doesn't care about you. She was about to kiss him, you and I know that. _

'I don't care.' He thought bitterly.

_Oh of course not,_ it seemed to be mocking him, _which is why you tried to kill him. You hated him for having her. And besides, I was right all along. Even if she momentarily thought you were better than what everyone else says, that thought sure is gone now. _

Grumbling, he undressed and sat on his bed, head bent over his knees, arms dangling between them, elbows resting on his legs and his hands clasped tightly.

The door opened silently and he walked to the door, not making a sound.

She was trying to be as quiet as possible. As she quietly closed the latch she sighed and turned around.

She gave a small scream as she was face to face with Zuko. One hand was above her head, as he was leaning against the wall. It was lit with fire, casting an eerie glow on the two faces.

He was very close to her. And he was a little taller. She noticed he had undressed. She had always been asleep when he came in and she gulped. His shirtless chest was very muscular. He looked at her, not angrily but coldly.

"Tell me," he said, "Where were you that caused you to come here and hour after your lesson ended?"

She looked up at him, breathing silently yet heavily, "I was out."

"I realize that, out where?" he leaned closer to her face, "tell me the truth and I won't be forced to take action."

She wondered if he knew where she had been, "I told you. I was out. It isn't any of your business." She said coldly. She moved to leave but he moved closer, forcing her to press herself against the wall to keep from touching him.

"Are you sure that's all?"

She glared at him, "I'm not saying anything else. After what happened today it would be a blessing to kick me off." She mimicked him and moved her face closer until it was a mere few centimeters away, "I'd rather die then tell _you._"

She noticed he wasn't moving so she willed herself to do something that both disgusted her yet excited her all the same. Since he was so close to her she couldn't freely move about. Her arms were trapped against her stomach.

Taking a deep breath she moved her hands the only place they were permitted to go: up his chest. She slowly ran her hands up his strong muscles, willing herself to not think about how strong he was. Her hands moved over his shoulders and around his neck.

He was very surprised and almost smacked her. But when her hands had touched him he had felt so relaxed and content. But now she was pulling him close to her, until he was pressing right up against her, the wall blocking her escape.

She was breathing heavily and he could feel her chest moving against his in a slow, deep manner.

He didn't know what he was thinking, his mind was blank. He didn't know why, but he was allowing her to do this. The voice screamed inside his head but he turned it to Mute. He didn't want to think about anything else right now.

His face was so close to her's that if either of them moved a fraction of a hair they would touch. He had moved his hand away from the wall, and somehow it had made its way around her waist, pulling her against him the same way she was doing to him.

Inside her mind her plan was beginning to fade away. She was actually concentrating more on Zuko than on what she had planned to do by doing this. But somewhere, deep in the back of her mind, something told her she didn't want to move.

Zuko was trying to figure out what was going on. Was it possible she wanted this? Did _he_ want it?

But before he could think anymore she spoke, "I'm going to bed," she pushed away from him quickly and almost collapsed on the cot. Her back was turned to him, and the only sound she made was the shallow breaths she took every few seconds.

He wanted to smack himself. What had he been thinking? He should have stopped it right then. But she had done it too, although he suspected that what happened wasn't what she wanted to in the beginning.

The voice was right, after what he had done to her friend; she would never speak to him again.

* * *

**Well, I certainly hope that was enough romance action for you all. I might have to up the rating, but I don't want to unless neccessary, although now that I read the rest of the story( which is near completion) I don't think I have to. Hope ya'll liked.**

**gaurdiangirl1: lol, I think "normal" refered to home. lol**


	9. Firebender

**yay! I have twice as many reviews as chapters! You guys rock! XD**

* * *

The next day Luke ventured out to the deck early. His mind was still whirring, and he couldn't think straight. He hadn't even bothered to put on his armor this morning.

When he opened the door to the bow the sunshine momentarily blinded him. But what he saw he would never forget.

They were sailing through a water orchard. A wide, very deep canal with huge blossoming trees lining the sides, bending towards each other until they touched, creating a canopy of the pink and white flowers. Every so often a few would drift down, like gently falling snow.

But what he noticed next frightened him yet entranced him. Alex was sitting there, at the front of the bow. She had scaled the railing and was sitting atop the large iron spike that extended past the barrier. She was in a meditating position, hands folded neatly in her lap. He knew her eyes would be closed, even though her back was to him. She was concentrating on the elements around her, absorbing them to create a natural balance.

He didn't notice it right away, but when the breeze blew gently he did. Spreading down her back were shinny black locks. Curling around each other and creating waves and dips. It blew gently around her back, occasionally a lock blew away from her face, but she made no move to correct it.

He knew she wasn't supposed to have her hair down in any way. Although it was tied high at the top of her head, it was still out of uniform.

He took a step towards her, not sure what to do. If he moved she would surely hear him, as he noticed she was coming out of her trance. But if he stayed she might be both offended and embarrassed.

Instead he took of his boots and walked barefooted across the deck to the side of her. The light was refracting off her face, and blossoms were landing on her hair and clothing.

Suddenly, she took her last breath and exhaled slowly. To his shock, when her breath came out it was not only air, but a small stream of fire as well.

She opened her eyes and watched the remainder of the flame disappear. She bit her lip and bowed her head.

And then, softly, she said to herself, "I miss you all so much. I want to tell you I'm all right, but I'm also afraid." She looked out at the seemingly endless lane of flowers, "I know you would hate me, because I'm evil now, aren't I?" she took a very shaky breath, holding back a sob, "I never wanted this. If it was my choice, I'd be an earthbender, like you two. Or a Waterbender like Kyle," she looked away, "And I just want to go home,"

It was then Luke knew that something was wrong, that she was not from here. That she was hiding something. It occurred to him that he did not know what nation her friends were from. But now he suspected. It was no wonder she had lied. Anyone from their nation who had friends in other nations was considered a traitor.

She gave a small, quick sob before turning and jumped down to the deck.

She glanced at him for a brief second and kept walking. But she had only taken three steps when she gasped and did a double take.

"Luke!" she cried in horror, hastily tying her hair into a bun. Her hands were shaking and she was blushing slightly.

He said nothing, he only walked up to her quickly and embraced her tightly, ignoring the pains on his chest.

This time, she did not try to turn away. She closed her eyes and held him tightly. A tear rolled down her cheek. He was soothing her with nonsense words.

And for once, she didn't care if anyone saw them. She was happy for the first time since stepping onto this retched ship.

_

* * *

Zuko noticed that Alex and Luke were unnaturally silent that night at dinner. But it was not the uncomfortable silence like the one he shared with Alex. This silence stated that they had a small secret, one that no one knew about._

Following his suspicions, he left momentarily after Luke and Alex both made excuses to leave early through dinner.

He stepped onto the deck and was stopped dead by what he saw.

Luke was standing sideways, facing the left side of the ship. His arms were wrapped around Alex, who was facing the same direction. He had hold of her hands and was talking to her quietly, she was nodding in response.

"Ok, when I say ready, I want you to think of a dark thought, a deep memory that perhaps causes anger." he said softly.

"Will I have to do it every time?" she whispered.

"No. But it's the best way to learn." He stood back from her and watched as she faced him. She gulped once and held her shaking hands at a stance all too familiar to Zuko. It was a stance he had learned only a few months ago, a firebending stance, intended for advanced users. But what was she doing? She couldn't firebend.

Alex breathed in deeply and thoughts hard. The first memory that came to her mind hit her like a stone. In her mind she envisaged Zuko – that monster – hurting Luke. In her mind she imagined hurting him herself.

Luke was standing back, he too was in a stance, "Ready?" he asked nervously.

"I don't want to hurt you," she whispered.

"You won't. GO"

She whipped her hands around in the pattern described to her by Luke, at the same time she moved her body in twisted positions. Then, it happened.

The most powerful stream of fire he had ever seen was coming right at him. He ducked quickly and smiled at her.

The duel was on.

Unbeknownst to them, every member of the ship's crew had come up to the deck to watch. Many of them had their mouths opened stupidly as they witnessed this girl – who had never shown any signs of firebending to them (and, although they didn't know this, never bended in her life) – performed moves that even some of the elder benders could not accomplish.

She fought with Luke, not intending on hurting him, for about half an hour before he raised his hands and fell to his knees, panting.

"Ok I give up." He looked up at her, taking deep breaths, "are you sure you've _never_ firebended before?"

She nodded and helped him to his feet, "Positive. Where I come from not many people can bend," she laughed at the thought of people from her suburban town bending.

Three people watching that day knew something was wrong. Luke, Iroh, and of course Zuko. She had told them she was from the capital…what she had just said didn't make any sense.

She realized her mistake immediately and was horrified. She spoke again, in an attempt to cover her slip up, "What I mean was—there weren't very many women firebenders." She laughed, "And to tell you the truth, I didn't know I could do it until last night." She looked at him thoughtfully.

There was a sound, familiar, yet it was alien to what she had thought was happening.

Lieutenant Jang was clapping. Soon after people joined in, until almost every person on the ship was applauding.

Alex's eyes grew wide in despair; she turned and glared at Luke, who shrugged.

"Don't look at me; I didn't know they were there either."

They almost charged her the next minute. People were patting her on the back, congratulating her, and begging her to teach them. She was instantly overwhelmed. Everything had happened so fast that she was finding it hard to process the information.

But just as she felt like she was going to be smothered by overexcited men she was rescued. A hand reached into the crowd, not a prying hand, but a helpful one. It didn't move, only sat there as the soldiers talked and cheered around her. She only stared at it for a moment before the fingers gestured her to grab it. She noticed no one was paying attention to her, so taking a leap of faith she took it.

She was wrenched from the crowd of people and dragged away. She turned and looked at all the people, still crowded around the small circle she had just left.

She kept looking back until she stumbled over a step. She forced herself to look up just as she was _pushed_ into a dark room.

She blinked, trying to focus her eyes. They were in a closet.

A_ closet_?

She turned in the direction of her savior and struggled to make out his features. When she failed she sighed, "Thank you so much. I thought I was going to—"

A light appeared next to her and she turned to see a finger lighting a candle. As the lighter moved away she followed it to meet their eyes.

She gasped and backed up, hitting her back against the wall, "Z-Zuko! What are you doing?" she hissed.

He was looking at her suspiciously, "How did you do that? You said you couldn't bend."

"I only—"

"And even if this _was_ your first time, there would be no possible way you could have accomplished what you did out there." He moved a few feet until he was glowering over her.

Frightened, she sank against the wall, letting herself slide down until she was sitting on the floor.

Zuko knelt down, one leg up, he leaned on it. He looked at her with serious eyes, "Tell me the truth."

"Why should I?" she spat.

He bit his lip in anger to keep himself from slapping her. He looked at her in frustration, "Why did you say there were few benders? I lived there, I knew. And don't say it was an accident, you looked afraid when you realized what you said."

She sighed angrily and closed her eyes momentarily to allow herself to relax. Ok, he wanted the truth? He was going to get it.

"Fine," she looked right at him, leaning forward until they were close once more. A fleeing memory of the previous night came back to her, but she shoved it away.

"The truth is that I'm not really from the capital because I'm not from this world at all. I'm from a different dimension. I knew who you were, I watched your Agnai Kai against you father, I watched you stand up for those soldiers in the war room," she took a breath.

The whole time she had started talking he was telling himself how crazy she was. But when she mentioned she had seen him stand up for the infantry, when he had been very sure that no one knew about it, he was already thinking about who betrayed him. His uncle perhaps?

She continued, "Almost a week ago I was sucked into this world with my three friends. Where we come from we _longed_ to bend, to be in this world. Though now that I'm here I'm having second thoughts." She paused, "I'm trying to get to the North Pole to meet up with my friends. Two earth kingdomers, and one water triber. After that we're going to try and get home. If not well, I guess I'll be here for a long, long time." She sighed and looked at him to see how he was taking the news.

He smiled wickedly, "You're absolutely right,"

She was shocked he was handling this all so well, "really?" she asked, startled.

He stood up, "Oh yes. You _are_ going to be _here_ for a long time. He opened the door and walked out. He turned and looked at her slyly, hand on the door knob, "Until you're ready to tell the truth about how you can bend, you'll be staying here. Have fun." He slammed the door.

Stunned, she sat there in the dark (the candle had blown out) and listened to him click the door shut. She sighed and slumped against the wall. Great, just great.

To his surprise, she didn't scream and fight and bang on the door like she thought he would. He groaned and stormed away, entering his cabin and closing the door firmly behind him.

Alex stood and very, very carefully lit one of her fingers so as to take a better look around her new quarters. She noticed a small cloth and curious, pulled it aside.

She saw the most beautiful sight. It was a window, a small one, but still. The cheery blossom path continued for miles, and now it had lost no beauty.

Sighing, she lay on the floor and attempted to get comfortable.


	10. Confessions

Four days later, Luke was beginning to wonder where Alex was. At dinner Zuko had told everyone that she felt very ill and would be absent for a few days. When asked if they could see her they were turned down with a firm, "She's too sick."

Now, Luke may not have known Zuko all that well. But he knew for sure that he was being too caring. He knew that if someone had gotten sick they would have been put to work anyway. They were too short on crew to sacrifice even one person.

So he came up with two solutions. 1) He had feelings for her. And 2) he was hiding something, most likely her.

Yeah, he was going to go with door number two.

Excusing himself from dinner, Luke looked every place he could think of. Just as he suspected, Alex was not in the Prince's room, but she wasn't in the prison hold either.

He was walking down the hall when he heard something coming from close by:

"Oh, where are you now? I'm trying, to get by with never knowing at all. What is the chance, of finding you out there? Or do I have to wait, forever?" a voice was signing.

He followed the sound to…a closet?

Unsure of what he would find, but not really caring, he unlocked the door and opened it to see Alex sitting on the floor in the back of a very small, very crowded closet.

When he opened the door she smiled weakly. She would have jumped up and embraced him but she hadn't eaten in four days, she was more than a little weak.

Horrified, he raced in and helped her up. He felt sick as he discovered how light she felt.

He took her out into the hall and shoved a piece of hearty bread at her that he was going to eat later.

He was staring at her in horror as she ate the small loaf quickly. She smiled.

"Thanks, it feels good to be full again."

He wanted to hold her, he wanted to tell her he had been so worried. He wanted to tell her he loved her.

But he couldn't do anything except stare, "How long were you in there?" he demanded.

She shrugged, "I lost count. Since Monday though."

He was dumbstruck. She had been in there for four _days_?

"How did you get in there? Did he do this to you?" he demanded again, stepping closer.

She held her hands out, "Who's 'he'?"

"You know perfectly well," he swallowed, "Zuko, he did this to you. But why?"

She blinked, "He thinks I was lying about my firebending, about it being my first time and all." She felt like breaking down and crying right now.

"but, I don't understand," he was perplexed, "If you were in there, why didn't you yell, or scream, or anything?"

She bit her lip and closed her eyes. In a shaky voice on the bridge of tears she said, "I was afraid he would hurt me."

He couldn't keep himself away anymore. He didn't care who was watching, "I was so worried about you…" he trailed off. He grabbed her and pulled her close, come on." He dragged a startled Alex down the hall.

Zuko had just come down the corridor when he saw Luke open the closet. He had heard everything she had said. And he was furious. How dare they. He had put her in there for a reason. And now he was going to see what was going on.

He instinctively went to Luke's room. Sure enough, the door was closed. Looking through the discreet peephole, he witnessed the events that unfolded right before his eyes.

She was with Luke, of course. He was leaning against the wall that lay directly behind the top of his bed. His arm was around Alex, and she was leaning on his chest, her eyes open and afraid.

Luke gulped. He looked at her, "Alex."

She looked up into his eyes, "Yes Luke?"

"I need to—what I wanted to say was—" no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get the words to come out of his mouth.

She was startled, "Luke, what's the matter?" she asked in a worried voice.

"Alex, Alex I—" he didn't bother finishing.

In once swift and fluent motion he bent down and hugged her fiercely.

Zuko felt something inside him explode. Whether it was his anger, or his heart, he had no idea. He was wondering why he cared so much. He had locked her in a closer after all. But he felt a certain triumph when he saw her sitting there in shock.

But his thought was destroyed when she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back with just as much intensity.

Zuko had it. He walked back to his room and went to sleep, taunted by the nightmares.

A few minutes later a very dazed yet happy Alex walked into her chambers. She didn't care if Zuko knew she was out. She was too thrilled about what had just happened. She collapsed on her bed happily, staring at the ceiling. It was quite at first.

Then she heard it.

The words that would haunt her forever.

"Please—no please. Not mother, don't hurt her. Hurt me, don't hurt mother."

Startled, she sat up and looked towards Zuko's bed. He was lying on his right side, mumbling in his sleep.

Curious, she snuck over and knelt beside him. She could hear him muttering about his mother, and his father. And death. She listened in horror as events were unknowingly described to her by him whilst he slept. She almost broke down crying as she visualized what was happening. She now regretted almost everything she had said about him or to him. _Almost_ everything.

He was shaking from the intensity of his nightmare. She hesitated, then laid a cool hand on his bare arm. She could feel him shuddering underneath her fingers, and she subconsciously rubbed his arm soothingly.

Then she heard the words that made her heart both break and erupt from the confusion and the feelings.

"No, no, I couldn't have. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you. I didn't mean to kill you. I'm sorry Alex, please don't be gone."

She was speechless. He actually cared. And whether or not she would ever hear him apologize when he was awake, this was good enough for her.

Standing up slightly, so that she was hovering over him. She could see his frightened face. It was twisted into many different levels of insanity and horror collided.

Briefly covering her mouth to keep herself from sobbing, she bent down and whispered in his ear, "I forgive you. I'm not going anywhere."

And then she did something she never thought she would do, and certainly not with this man. She bent forward a bit more and kissed him softly on his scared cheek.

On the brink of tears she whispered, "You aren't alone Zuko, there are people who care." She bit her lip and paused, "_I_ care."

She silently stepped back and walked back to her bed, collapsing from exhaustion.

* * *

Zuko opened his eyes the next morning, but made no attempt at getting up. He sat there, staring at the fire nation insignia on his wall. He had had so many nightmares. But there had been one point when he felt truly happy, for the first time in two years.

In his nightmare he had killed Alex. He had strangled her to death. But then he had stood back in horror and looked at the corpse of a beautiful young woman. In his nightmare he had knelt to the ground and begged for forgiveness.

And then, when he thought things would only get worse, a faint voice whispered to him.

"I forgive you. "I'm not going anywhere."

He had known this was Alex, and it comforted him to know that at least in his dreams he was forgiven for all the evil things he had done.

He had no idea that what he had heard her say was real, he had no idea that the one person he somehow wanted to care about so much had kissed his cheek that night. He had no idea that she truly cared.

He looked over and saw her sleeping peacefully. Taking a chance, he got out of bed and walked over to her bedside. Kneeling awkwardly, he said the things he wanted to say, assuming she couldn't hear him.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you. I don't know what came over me," he laughed quietly, "wait, that's a lie. I do know why I did it. You do things to me, I feel things when I'm around you. That day, when I stupidly hurt Luke, I normally wouldn't have given a damn. But I saw you, and I saw how much you cared. I guess I just wanted you to care about me as much."

He laughed again, "what am I saying. How could I expect you to? I locked you in a closet for god's sake." He sighed, "I'm not really good at this sort of thing. But I guess what I'm trying to say is that that night, when we were—yeah. But that night, part of me wanted it to be real. Even if it was only a small part, I guess I hoped you had felt the same thing."

He held a hand out, hesitated, and drew it back, "I know you can't hear me, but it's what I wanted to say. Don't expect any mercy anytime soon though. I won't treat you any kinder or better than the rest of my crew."

He left.

Alex lay there in a stunned silence. She had been lying on her side with her eyes closed, thinking. Then she had heard him speak, she hadn't moved, for fear of him getting angry. She had never expected that to happen. She thought back to before she had landed here, when she had been home. She had often searched the internet for fan fiction and read every scrap she could find.

She sat up and looked at the door, "Now that there lady's and gentleman, is what back home they would of called someone being out of character." She laughed at her silliness and got dressed.

Well, really there was nothing to put on. She realized with disgust that she had been wearing the same clothes for over a week.

Walking down the hall she searched for anything she could use to wash her clothing. She didn't care if she was on a ship full of odd behaving men, she was going to figure out something.

She happened upon a small, discreetly hidden room. Inside she marveled at what she saw. It was a revolutionary laundry room. Inside was a large tub for clothing, (it was labeled) the user would pour the water in from a large bucket of the stuff that was sitting beside the tub. After that, the person would boil the water using firebending, adding some soap from a small box. After the items were washed, bending was used to dry them again.

Intrigued, she stepped inside. It made her nervous to know it didn't have a door. If she wanted to wash her clothing she would have to momentarily strip. There was no way she was taking a chance with all of her clothing at once, she had a plan.

After making sure no one was in sight, she quickly pulled her shirt of and threw it in the tub. Immediately she pulled on her jacket and zipped it up. Of course, she was in a hurry so she didn't bother to zip it up all the way.

She noticed that the material of the coat was very stretchy. That gave her an idea. After once again making sure the coast was clear, she took off her pants and threw them in also.

She quickly found a stool and, pulling the coat down as far as it would go, sat down. She knew how ridiculous she must appear, sitting on a stool almost completely naked.

After her pants and shirt were washed and dried she put them on, sighing at the clean feeling. She looked in dismay at her coat – which was stretched beyond repair – and decided to stow it in a small bin in a hidden corner of the bath, for later use.

The moment she stepped on deck she was ambushed by the soldiers and workers, who asked her is she felt better.

Having a vague idea about what had happened, she thanked them politely and told them she felt much, much better.

Iroh motioned for her to come over to him—and Zuko.

Alex knew she would have to face Zuko. But she had to pretend like nothing had changed between them at all.

"Yes Iroh?" she asked with a smile, completely shunning Zuko.

Iroh smiled, "Well, after your display on Monday, my nephew and I have decided you should be allowed to train with the other benders."

She smiled, "thank you so much Iroh." Then she thought for a moment. His _nephew_ and him? Does that mean Zuko had gone along with it? Had he suggested it?

Iroh sighed, "There is a slight problem however." She nodded and he continued, "Well, I know since you arrived you may have felt out of place. Also, there is the fact that even though you are a very skilled bender, you will need protection if the time comes when you would need armor." He smiled, "We've decided to make a pit stop. It's about time you were outfitted with a proper set of armor."

She was elated at this news, but frowned at first, "Thank you Iroh, but what about Luke, he doesn't…" she nodded, "Oh yes, I get it." She realized now that Luke could easily fit into any of the soldiers spare armor, and they usually had many hand me downs. She knew that she herself could fit, but she was both delighted and astounded that Iroh cared enough about her to know that women should have their own, custom fit armor, as men's wear did not fit properly enough to allow adequate movement.

"Besides," uncle smiled, "we are in need of some supplies. I Zuko along with you and a list. I trust you could manage that?"

Her thoughts wired. Part of her was offended that she was to spend an entire day alone with Zuko, but the other part of her was leaping for joy. There was only one minor problem.

"But sir," she said, puzzled, "Doesn't everyone think he's dead? No offense of course," she smiled at him and instantly regretted it. She looked back at Iroh.

He laughed, "My, you are observant. But between you and me, the fire lord did not wish for this "news" to leak out. It might give the other nations a feeling that they could win now that the heir was dead." At the look on her face he added, "No, the fire lord does not know that his son is alive. I would prefer to keep it that way."

She smiled and bowed her head, "I respect your wishes General Iroh."

He then filled her in on the details. They were stopping in an earth kingdom town that was under siege by the fire nation. Iroh assured her that any soldiers that recognized Zuko were friends of his, and they would not bother them while there. Also, there was a very small chance that an earth kingdom dweller would tell, seeing as all the nearby officers were playing dumb.

So, delighted beyond belief, Alex joined the firebending lesson while they traveled the remaining hour to the city, which was called Marin.

The other men greeted her warmly, and at first went easy on her. But when three privates were thrown to the ground, they stopped that right away. She meant business.

She also made the entire lesson much more enjoyable, and even Zuko noticed a rise in his crew's spirits. Instead of being dead serious about a practice, they would occasionally laugh and cheer the others on. Surprisingly, their progress was excelling as well. Iroh said it was because they enjoyed their lessons more, and now worked harder in order to beat the quick to learn Alex.

Midway through a spar between two privates, the great city came into view.

Alex gasped, it was beautiful, simply stunning.

Soon they landed and Iroh gave them a surprising amount of money. Alex assumed it was for the supplies and everything else when Iroh smiled, "Don't sacrifice any quality."

It hit her, "You mean?" she gaped. There was no way all this money was for her armor, no freaking way, "Iroh I can't"

He laughed, "I'll compromise with you Alex. How about you find the best armor _both_ of you can find," he smiled, "I believe my nephew could use another set as well, his is a bit charred after all." He grinned, "Go get ready, there's still a few minutes before you can get off. Zuko will meet you at the bottom."

Alex quickly ran off. No one had even noticed her own little bathroom, so she had staked claim to it. She had installed a makeshift door with a screen, and now felt comfortable there. And to her utter joy, Alex had been scavenging the bathroom and found more treasures. It was apparent that this ship had been previously owned (yet was still in mint condition) and a woman had been onboard. She now realized that this was probably her private bath and grinned to herself. Among other things she found where a sliver brush and comb set-never been used, a few ties for her hair, and a small tube of what she assumed was the equivalent to modern day lip gloss.

Excited, she got ready. She knew that off the ship she was permitted to dress and appear any way she wanted. In her flurry she completely forgot that her companion was Zuko.

Zuko was waiting for her at the bottom of the ramp. He was dressed in his usual casual attire and was happy to note that his cuts and burns had healed on his face (he had found the cook, who made him more of the stuff he had given Alex). He did not wait long however, for he glanced up at the ramp and did a double take. Alex was walking down, but he had not recognized her at first.

The most noticeable thing about her of course was her hair. She was permitted to wear it in any fashion she preferred when off the ship. And she had taken full advantage of this fact. She had done little but take it out and give it a quick combing, but it still made a statement.

Her hair was long, reaching a few inches below her shoulders. It was naturally curly, and had the same texture as when she had had it up in a tail. Soft curls were visible among the waves, which started a little below her chin. Otherwise, her hair was mostly straight from the crown to her chin. It framed her face and accented her features. Sick of her dry and chapped lips she had applied some of the "lip gloss", which was clear.

She smiled at Zuko as she touched the dock, "Well, are we going or what?" she smiled, walking on ahead.

Startled he caught up with her. He couldn't help staring every few minutes. It was a very good thing for her (and both of them?) that he wasn't too much taller than her, or else he would have a very interesting view along her neckline.

He averted his eyes, "Where should we go first? He asked." He turned his head and noticed three servants trailing behind. _Far_ behind. And they weren't even watching. He knew they were here to carry their things back to the ship, but he couldn't help feeling a little sorry that people from the ship were here.

Alex shrugged, "it doesn't really matter to me." Her eyes lit up as she spotted a clothing shop. "Oh, they might have what we're looking for." She subconsciously grabbed his hand and led him in that direction, pulling at first. But when they were walking at a comfortable pace he noticed she made no move to let go of his hand.

Of course, neither was he.

But she was too busy trying to avoid venders along the streets to notice what she was doing to the full extent.

They entered the shop in the same manner. A small bell tinkled over the boor, attached to the hinge.

The shop keeper, a pleasant looking fire nation woman, smiled at them as they walked in. at first she did not recognize the prince, for she had never seen him in person. And anyway, she was much too busy to worry about that now. She noticed them walk in hand in hand and had happily sprung to life. Men who were courting women often spent loads of money on them.

Alex dropped his hand gently and they walked towards the smiling shop owner. She smiled at the two teens, "Well, what can I get you?" she smiled again, "A coat for the young lady? Some jewelry? I have some great—"

Alex immediately knew what the sales lady was thinking and looked at Zuko nervously. "No ma'am," she interrupted suddenly, "What we really came her for is—some armor."

The lady frowned a little but perked up at the price of armor and led them to a discreet room in the back of the shop.

She immediately ignored Alex and turned to Zuko, pulling out a tape measure she started to take measurements.

Alex giggled to herself at the astonished look on his face. His gaze met hers and he smiled.

_Oh my god,_ she thought, _he actually smiled. And at me nonetheless._

That same swooning feeling came back to her briefly. She humored herself in imagining the look on the lady's face when she heard that Alex needed armor herself. She knew at the moment she looked nothing like the fighting type, more like the typical fire nation teenager.

The shop keeper left and came back with a pile of armor. She then smiled and left the room, closing the curtain behind her, telling him to check the fit and she'd be back in a few moments.

Zuko had caught the mess of armory and was trying to figure out what to do with it all when Alex, laughing, went over.

Taking a few pieces from him she smiled, "let me help you with that." She placed all the pieces on a long bench, sorting them out quickly. He marveled at her ability to do so. If he attempted this it would have taken over an hour.

She picked up the chest piece and turned around to face him. Zuko noted stupidly how her hair swished when she moved.

She smiled awkwardly and handed him the piece. He stared at it for a moment before realizing she wanted him to put it on. He knew then why she looked so uncomfortable. It was custom for wives to suit up their husbands for battle, and the same went for buying new armor.

He pulled it on, marveling at the snug yet very breathable feeling of it. After he had pulled on the rest, he noted with embarrassment that the straps along his side, on his arms, and his legs needed to be tighten.

Alex saw his dilemma and took pity on him. Shaking her head in wonder she walked over, "let me help you with that,"

But as she reached to tighten an arm strap she looked at him, the picture of sheet seriousness, even though they both knew she was joking.

"Not that I'm playing the role of your future wife," she pointed out as she tightened the arm and side straps.

Zuko gave a small, low, and unbelieving laugh. She looked up at him and he noticed sheepishly that she was fastening his leg harness.

She smiled, "What, you don't think you'll ever get married?" she turned back to the straps, "I though if you were the heir you'd have to."

He gave the same laugh, "Well, since everyone thinks I'm dead that isn't a problem anymore." In his mind his conscience was running through the list of why no woman could ever love him again. He ignored it, annoyed that that stupid little voice had come back.

She stood and gave his chest piece a pat, "All set." She stood back and secretly admired him.

He liked the feel and the fit of the armor, and when the sales lady came back he told her he would buy it. Once he had removed the armor and the lady had placed the items in a box she said, "All right, that'll be eighty—"

"Actually," Zuko interrupted, "We need one more set."

She seemed agitated but had her fake smile plastered on, "Of course sir, I'll go get an identical—"

"No," he said firmly, "it isn't for me." Alex kept herself from laughing and stepped forward, Zuko – almost proudly – put his arm around her shoulder.

Alex forced herself to keep smiling through the awkward situation. Zuko cleared his throat and looked down at her, smiling, "It's for her."

The lady's jaw dropped about three feet, "But surely you must be kidding sir." She laughed, "I'm sorry sit, but it just isn't possible that anyone would be stupid enough to hire such a girl. Look at her, I bet she can't even start a fire."

Zuko felt Alex move to attack the lady but he gave her a look that said, 'let me handle this.'

He glared at the lady, although he attempted to be polite, "well, I guess that makes me and my uncle the stupidest people in the world," he gave a small laugh, "I believe you've heard of him." At the lady's blank look he said, "My Uncle, the great General Iroh, Dragon of the West, hired this girl. If you have a problem with that I expect he'll be happy to hear your opinion of him."

The lady gulped several times, "General Iroh! Oh heavens I am dreadfully—" she stopped and stared at Zuko suspiciously, "Did you say _uncle_?" he nodded and her face turned pale. General Iroh only had one sibling, his brother Ozai. If this scared young man was Iroh's nephew, that meant that he must be…

She gasped, "Oh my goodness. Prince Zuko! I am terribly sorry, I'll get right on your order sir." She disappeared into a back room.

Alex looked at Zuko funny and for a moment he wondered what she was on about now when he quickly removed his arm from her shoulder, "I uh—"

She laughed and gave him a one armed hug, "Thanks for sticking up for me," she wanted to smack herself again. Did she just hug him like she used to hug Josh and Kyle?

She opened her eyes wide. Oh my god, she was speaking in past tense. She meant how she _hugged_ them, right? Of course, silly mistake.

The lady came back and led her into a back room. Zuko waited awkwardly outside and contemplated what he had done. Why had he allowed her to take his hand? Why had he allowed her to do up his armor? Why had he allowed _himself_ to touch her like that?

Even though deep down he knew what was going on.

'Am I falling in love with her?' he thought.

The voice was back. _No, not really. She's just making you **think **you are. It's all a trap. You saw how she hugged you like that. Sure, it appeared casual, but that'll lead to other things. Remember that night in your room? If I had money I would bet you all the money in the world that she did not really want to be that close to you, that she resented touching you. She's only--_

He cut the voice off as another voice said, rather nervously, "What do you think? Is it up to your standards or what?"

He looked up and saw her. He was astounded. The woman's uniform was similar to the men's, except that it fit better. The "skirted" part of the armor was much shorter, and he noticed that each piece hugged the body generously. The most noticeable piece was the chest piece. It hugged her curves perfectly (It was custom fit so it should). It came down from the shoulders in a curve similar to that of the men's collars. It was like a rounded square. There was no collar, and the top of the armor ended low enough to be feminine, but high enough to be both decent and protecting. The shoulder pads were inexistent. Instead, the arms connected with the chest with a small circling of metal that covered the bindings. The same grey undershirt was worn, but again it fit perfectly. The boots were not pointed, they were a nice, rounded toe, much like regular boots. Another feature he noticed about the chest plate was the design. He knew all the uniforms had designs. Most were the same save for captains, generals, and of course admirals. Her armor was made of the same dark red color, but the chest plate had an unusual pattern. The golden color used to line borders was used on the plate. From her shoulders straight down it went (besides lining it as usual) and curved over the from just under the bust line, with a straight line down the center.

He knew he was staring but didn't care. The lady still looked shocked, but now she was eyeing them curiously. They both took that as a cue to leave. _Now_. They bought their items and left the shop, completing the rest of the list.

Throughout the rest of the day Alex found herself laughing with Zuko. She had a feeling this happy mood would disappear the instant they were in sight of the ship, but it was nice while it lasted. They were both enjoying themselves. Between joking about the amount of tea Iroh asked for to who could skip a stone the farthest.

This happened last, actually, as they waited for the servants to go about the numerous shops and collect their items. Meanwhile, Alex was helping Zuko get in touch with his inner child as she taught him to skip stones across the water. They were waiting at a small, unpopulated beach far from the ships. Both of them felt a secret joy at finally being alone.

Alex knew that the reason he was so different from what she had always known him as was due to the fact that people had been dictating what he was to say, even though it was his personality. Now that the show was stalled she was beginning to see the real Zuko.

Well, most of him anyway.

After skipping a stone a record distance of three skips (for him, Alex had done ten) he walked through the sand and collapsed next to a reclining Alex, who was leaning back on her elbows.

He was lying down completely, hands behind his head, looking over the horizon at the sunset.

"I never really noticed it before, but it's really wonderful, isn't it?" he asked silently.

She looked over at him, "Yeah it is." They were sitting close together, although he was higher up on the beach than she was, at least by a few inches.

"It makes you think about things," he mussed, "Like how alone you are, when you watch a sunset with no one to share it with." He looked awfully sad and depressed.

"Do you think you're alone now?" she asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this right now, so she could get these thoughts out of her mind.

He thought for a moment, "I think so. I'm all ways alone, no matter how many people are around."

She looked at him, startled by his insightful views. She bit her lip, wondering if she dared to do what she wanted to so badly.

She gently leaned onto his chest, resting her head underneath his chin. Automatically he put an arm around her, pulling her close to him, around her back and gently gripping her shoulder.

"You're wrong, Prince Zuko," she whispered, "You're not alone."

He was both shocked yet happy. He knew that once they returned to the ship things would change. The Prince Zuko everyone throughout the world thought him as would return, and he would banish any thoughts of her, and this moment. This was definitely going along with that—that one in his room.

She closed her eyes for a moment, she knew they had about ten seconds to enjoy this, but she didn't care.

'You know,' she thought, 'if this is what he's like "Out of Character (OOC), then maybe I don't mind so much. Screw everyone else. When I get back I'm writing a story about all of this.

Yet, as they walked back to the ship silently, she wondered if she even wanted to leave.


	11. Relations

**I know people have been saying that Zuko and Iroh are being weird...well, Iroh isn't as much a main character, and anything OOC you see will most likely be contradicted. if anyone even noticed...he locked her in a freaking closet, yeah, don't expect much good Zuko, you will actually rarely see that in this story, he has a split personality.

* * *

Back to the others!**

* * *

Kyle was absently walking through a small courtyard. He was thinking about what was happening, how crazy it all seemed. He knew in his heart there was no way to explain the phenomenal events he had witnessed: the Waterbenders, the Airbender, every thing was maddening.

He turned a corner and stopped dead, staring at what he saw.

It was an enormous buffalo. Or was it a bison? He didn't really care, it was huge.

Cautiously, he approached it.

"Oh, hello Kyle."

He stopped and turned suddenly, smiling when he saw Katara. She was smiling too, although he was acting rather odd.

"That's Appa." She stated, "He's a flying bison."

Kyle nodded his head, "Of course he is," even though he was thinking how crazy everyone was.

He patted the beast.

* * *

People on the ship greeted them warmly as they returned, even though Zuko knew it was her they were cheering for. They had become attached to her very recently.

Alex excused herself and made her way down to her hidden bath.

As she walked along the very familiar corridor of the soldier's quarters she spied someone coming out of a door. It was Luke. As he passed she waved at him cheerfully.

After he had passed her stopped and dib a double take. Seeing her with her hair down was unusual.

"Alex!" he called after her.

She stopped and turned to face him, "Yeah?"

"can I talk to you for a second?"

She was suspicious, "give me two minutes."

Two minutes later she met him in his room, her hair tied back again.

He looked up at her uneasily from his bed, "Something came for you." He said in a hushed voice.

She stared at him. She knew it would sound stupid if she asked how the message had been delivered, but he answered that for her. "A messenger rode up while I was on deck. I'm the only one who knows he was here." He shifted uncomfortably and walked over to her, handing her a small letter he said quietly, "It's from the earth kingdom."

He left, allowing her to walk back to "her room" by herself. She clutched the letter tightly in her hand. Was it a notice of death? Had one of her friends died, and now they were sending notice? There was no way her friends knew she was in the Fire Nation, because she was the only one who knew her birth element.

She walked inside and went over to sit on her cot, staring at the letter in her hand.

* * *

Zuko looked up when she walked in. noticing her article he asked about it. She looked up and smiled, "Oh, it's just a letter."

"Who from?"

"I'm not sure. But it's from the earth kingdom."

She knew he was thinking the same thing she was and walked over to sit beside her. (a few inches apart of course)

She opened the envelope with shaky fingers. Pulling out a battered piece of old paper she read the familiar writing. It was in English. Apparently not every aspect of this world was correct:

_Alex,_

_I have been recently informed of your current location and situation. It's a very long story, but of course, I have a lot of time on my hands. No doubt you already know that Kyle is at the North Pole, and that Tina and I are stuck here in the earth kingdom. She found me and saved me from a odd fate. Something to do with cabbages but oh well._

_Do you have any idea what is happening to us? Can you bend? I've been too scared to try. Of course, if any of us are going to, it'll be you for sure._

_I wanted to tell you that we are headed to the North Pole at this very moment, and hope to meet you there. Tina is rambling on about how Kyle was probably confused out of his mind. But in case you were worried about him, he's safe. He's with **Momo.**_

_I—I miss you Alex, things aren't the same around here without here. And sometimes I go to sleep wondering if I'll ever see you again. Whether or not Tina wants to fully believe it, I know we are fighting a war. But I don't worry about our safety, it's yours I am fearful for. I now know how loyal and true you are to your friends, if you risked your life by traveling on the ship of the most wanted young man in the world. I have of course, neglected to mention to Tina that not only is the Prince alive, but that you are traveling with him. She's told me some pretty horrid things about him. I beg of you, be careful. I prayed that you had found someone whom you could trust and you did, I am more than grateful to that fact._

_We've run into some interesting characters, such as a fortune teller by the name of Aunt Wu, thus the reason I know your location. Tina made a bad impression on her assistant so she didn't get a chance to go in. but the way she talks about the fire nation, I think she would have gone into an epileptic seizure once discovering your present location._

_I do not know when this will reach you, nor do I know if you will be able to correspond. I don't suppose they have carrier pigeons or something like that do they?_

_I also didn't like the news that you were the only female on a ship full of strange men. But of course, that's just me being "big brother" again. I worry about you, I really do._

_When I see you again I have something I want to tell you. If it doesn't look like we'll ever see each other again…then I'll figure out some way. Do not fret over it, it isn't crucial information or anything of the sort._

_I should be going, the rain has let up and we are going to get a move on._

_Until we meet,_

_Josh_

Alex felt so many emotions that she could barely stand it. They were safe, that was good. He knew where she was, that was also good. She admired the way he had disguised Aang as Momo, and she had gotten the message. Now all she had to do was get there herself. She didn't want to think about how Tina would react upon seeing her Firebender face. She was thinking about carrier pigeons, and she was thinking about the man sitting next to her who had read every word.

He raised a brow at her, "Most wanted man in the world? Is he serious?"

She laughed, brushing off the comment. But it was a stiff laugh, and he could see she was worried.

"Is he your—brother?" he asked.

She looked at him, wiping a would-be tear from her eye, "No, just a friend. A very good friend."

As he stood she said softly, "I don't think I'll ever see him again." She whispered.

He looked at her thoughtfully, "What makes you say that?"

"I can't meet them. I can't go," she bowed her head, "I can't save them." She turned and laid down on her cot, near the edge, facing the door.

He hesitated, "You know, you shouldn't have to sleep on that old thing, especially since it's so cold."

She sat up and looked at him suspiciously, "And where else would I sleep?"

He shrugged and blew the light out after he had climbed into bed.

She stared at his relaxed form in wonder. He was absolutely insane. But just then, a cold wind blew though the room, making her shiver. She remembered her coat was ruined and cursed herself.

She wrapped her arms around herself and walked to his bed, standing so that he was looking up at her, "I don't see why I can't share with Luke," she hissed, "at least _his_ bed is large enough for two bodies."

He looked offended and propped himself up on his elbows, "Fine, if you want the staff to start rumors and possibly have the crew walk in and see something in their mind that just isn't there, then fine. But my door has a lock." He jeered, " and there is too enough room."

She mocked him with her eyebrows, "Oh please, I think I'll chance the rumors," as she turned to leave Zuko playfully grabbed her arm and pulled her down.

She gasped as she landed on the bed, face down. She got up on her lower arms and glared at him, "what are you doing?" she hissed.

He smirked, "proving there's enough room."

She rolled her eyes, "What's gotten into you?" she wondered.

He smiled, "Maybe I wanted to do this at least once. Just once, then I'll be fine for the rest of my life."

"No you won't. it's like candy, once you get a taste you're hooked on it for life."

"I'm different."

She scoffed and turned on her side, facing away from him, lying on the outmost edge. She was too tired to get up and move, and the warm blanket felt warm over her cold body.

She turned her head and noticed that he had done the same, as if mocking her. She knew he was probably smiling, with his eyes closed tight.

She rolled over quietly as looked at him. She was on his left side, and the scared part of his face was clearly visible, even in the darkness of the room.

Almost automatically, she reached and arm over his bare shoulder and onto his chest, pulling both him to her, and her to him. He was surprised but didn't move.

She sat up a little and leaned her head against the side of his, after a few seconds she turned her head and did that fluent motion again. She kissed him lightly on his scared cheek and said, "Goodnight." She let go of him and rolled over.

He was in a state of stunned silence. He guess he had always secretly hoped she would do just that, but never did he imagine it that way.

He turned and placed an arm around her waist. She let herself be pulled into the warmth of his bare chest. She closed her eyes in contentment as he bent over and whispered, "Thank you."

She turned again until she was being held face to face with him. "NO, thank you."

He sighed, "I never imagined _anyone_ would ever do that. And _you _did. I don't know, I guess I'd always imagined getting my first kiss from my mother."

She laughed, "Well for starters, you can still imagine it. That didn't count."

He laughed, "What does?"

"Do you want to know?"

He looked into her eyes and swallowed, "yes, yes I do. Very much."

She put a hand behind his head and pulled his face close until they were a breath apart. And then, I one fluent motion, he pulled her closer, and she kissed him.

They would never actually now who kissed who first, but neither of the cared about that right now. It was sweet and lasting, and when she pulled away she smiled, "That counted, if you want."

He smiled as she rolled over again. Pulling her close to him he whispered, "oh, it did. I counted it, don't worry."

They both knew they would regret what had just happened in the morning, but for now neither of them cared.

And only a few stairs and hallways away, Luke slept away, totally oblivious to what had just happened with his friend/crush and the person he hated most. No, he would never know what happened. No one would. Not for a very long time.

* * *

The next day went by exactly the way it usually did. Except for an unexpected announcement.

Iroh looked sheepish, "I'm sorry to say that we will be making another stop on a small fire nation island near the earth kingdom shores. I intend to pick up new soldiers. I hope you all don't mind cramped quarters, but I've had the servants make each room for anyone below the rank of captain – which there is none – a double. You will all receive a roommate by the end of the day, and hopefully that means some extra rooms." He looked over at Alex and smiled at her delighted face, "I expect you all to be in uniform in thirty minutes, we're going to dock shortly."

Everyone raced off to get ready. Alex watched them leave and went back to the room to get her armor. She had trained herself not to think about what had happened last night, even to the point where she believed it had never happened.

When she walked in Zuko was dressing. She averted her eyes as he pulled on his shirt. He gave her the usual brief nod before he pulled on his armor. She helped him with the straps again before digging around for her own armor.

"So, I guess that means I won't be rooming with you after today?" she asked calmly as she buckled her armor.

He looked up a bit, "Yeah, I guess so." He looked at her, "You're side…"

She looked down and saw her left side was un-strapped. She reached to do it up but he was closer. He quickly and efficiently did it for her. She muttered her appreciation and they left together, only due to the fact they were both ready.

Several members of the crew looked up with open mouths when she walked by. Zuko remembered that he was the only person to have seen her in her armor before now.

She walked with an amazing ease, supporting it on her shoulders. He had tested the armor. It was incredibly strong, yet extremely lightweight, the newest invention. He himself sported metal of the same kind, as his was new also.

Everyone had shinned their armor to gleaming and were lined up accordingly as they prepared to dock in the harbor. Alex however, was staying behind with Zuko. She told Iroh that he might have better luck finding recruits if they didn't know they had a female soldier. And Zuko well, he was just too noticeable.

After they had departed she turned to lean against the bow rail, observing the sights below her. Occasionally a passerby would glance up at her, notice her armor, and then poke their neighbor and point her out.

After awhile it got tedious, especially after one little boy yelled out to his mother, "Mommy! Look at the funny looking man!"

Deeply offended she had turned away muttering, "I don't look like a man." She scorned.

"Most definitely. I see the striking resemblance between you and my uncle as a young lad,"

She turned and glared at Zuko, "Ha-ha Zuko, my sides are splitting," she said sarcastically.

He approached her, resting his hands jut below her shoulders, "I was only joking. You're much too pretty to look like a man," he smiled and bent down, meaning to kiss her.

She laughed and pulled away, making it seem natural, as if she had had no idea what he planned to do, "Yep, that's true all right." She looked back over the harbor and saw something she never expected to see. Large hawks and phoenixes were flying in and out of a central location.

She gasped and turned to him, "I really need to do something, I sweat I'll be right back." She raced down the ramp and into the crowds.

"Ok, but you owe me!" he shouted to her as she left.

She was now walking through the streets, fully enjoying the attention she was being given by other soldiers. In her armor she commanded respect from them, and they nodded respectfully at her.

She reached a small store where birds of all kind where soaring in and out of a large hole in the roof. She eagerly went inside, clutching her weeks pay.

She had almost forgotten that she was being paid, but if they insisted on giving her gold each week she wasn't going to complain. She had already bought alternate changes of clothing, but she happily spent the remainder of her money on a small carrier hawk.

As she walked back to the ship, the hawk perched on her shoulder, she felt a feeling of uneasiness. Like she was been followed or watched. Or both for that matter.

"Well lookey here boys, a little girl trying to play soldier, there's something you don't see everyday."

She stopped dead in her tracks, the anger already building up inside her. Whirling around to face the speaker she had her fists clenched. A large, smug looking soldier – a private no doubt – was standing with two other guards. He laughed at her, "Oh look, she's even got on _armor_." He said mockingly.

She was outraged, "Say that again."

He looked at her, perhaps stunned that she had dare to speak to him, "Did you just say something to me?" he demanded.

She stepped a few feet until she was standing only five feet away from him. Standing up to her full height she said defiantly, "Say that again lug tub."

Outraged he lit his fists, raising them, "You're going to be fried alive wench!"

He threw a flaming punch at her but she not only dodged it, but used his weight against him, throwing him over her shoulder.

He stood angrily and was ready to throw another flame. She stood there, "Come on," she said, motioning with her hands for him to come closer, "Give me your best shot."

He threw an enormous stream of fire at her, but she caught it and threw it back. He seemed shocked as he ducked that she was firebending, but surly she couldn't do much of it, right?

She attacked with her own furious streams and balls of fire, throwing several in a row. It was at this point that the two soldiers behind her decided to play unfair. As he moved to retaliate his comrade a voice called out, "Alexa, behind you!"

Even though she had been born under the name Alex, she felt a familiar twinge at the name. Turning around she attacked the guard before he could strike her.

On his ship Zuko had been practicing when he noticed the circle of people below him. Curious, he turned to eagerly watch the quarrel. He was horrified, however, to see that there were three guards fighting a single soldier.

And that that soldier—was Alex.

He swore and walked down the deck quickly.

A young man of eighteen years, with short curly black hair, stepped into the fighting "ring" and stood next to Alex. When she looked at him, startled, he raised and lowered his brows once. But she couldn't respond until after she dodged yet another flame.

She glared at him, "Thanks for the warning, but I don't need your help." she drew a wall of flame around them for a few moments.

He hade a mock look of hurt on his face, "What, I don't even get a 'nice to see you again'? I'm hurt,"

She looked at him suspiciously, "Why did you call me Alexa?"

He really looked confused now, "That's—that's your name." he looked shocked and took a step towards her, "Alexa don't you remem—"

She back away, "leave me alone, I don't even know you."

As he stared at her with a mixed look of hurt and astonishment, the wall vanished, revealing three very angry soldiers.

The odd boy took on two of them, leaving her with the largest one, the one who had previously insulted her.

"You think you're so special. I'll show you what happens to women who enlist in the army," he took a threatening step towards her.

She made a jump to attack – and hopefully harm him severely – but was caught by the arm. As she was drawn close to her captor to be kept from throwing herself at the man she heard Zuko's voice whisper in her ear.

"Drop it, just drop it. Calm down, relax."

She struggled against his grip for a moment before giving it up. She continued to glare at the man.

He smirked, "Why don't you let the wench fight for herself you scum?"

Zuko looked up at him in anger and the guard reeled away in recognition. "P-Prince Zuko!"

Zuko kept a stone face as he said coldly, "You'll do better to treat my soldiers with respect next time, Private." He turned and led her firmly through the crowd of people.

Once away from them she walked beside him, "You didn't have to do that," she snapped, "I could have handled it just fine."

He looked at her sharply, "I would prefer not to lose a soldier on a skeleton crew."

She muttered something and walked far behind him up the ship plan. Unbeknownst to both of them, the boy from the fight was following her.

When she had reached the deck she looked to the dock and sighed in relief when she saw Iroh, "There's Iroh,"

Zuko grunted, "We're just not going to mention your little escapade. That's going to be our little secret." He stopped and stared behind her, his eyes narrowing.

She turned and saw the boy, who was looking at them both incredulously, "You work for him?" he asked, coming to her. He touched her arm gently, "Alexa what are you—"

"Get away from me!" she hissed, backing away.

Just then, Iroh walked up to her, smiling, "I see you've met our newest recruit. Please say hello to Second Lieutenant…" he trailed off and looked to him to introduce himself.

He grinned at her, "Troy. I'm Troy."

A gear clicked in her mind. Strange memories came back to her. She stared at this young man, this man she had known her entire life.

She gasped and screamed in delight. Throwing her arms around him in a tight hug he hugged her back.

"Troy, oh my god it's you." She looked at him; "I thought you were…" she trailed off, choking back a sob.

He touched her hair, "It's alright Alexa. I'm here now."

Both Iroh and Zuko were surprised at this reunion. Zuko couldn't help briefly wondering if he was an ex-boyfriend.

Alex turned and smiled at the two perplexed people, "This is Troy," she laughed, "My brother."

Zuko raised his eye brows. Now that he looked there was no mistaking the resemblance. They had the same basic facial structure, although his chin was much firmer and squarer. Below his curly black hair his amber eyes didn't have the same look of mischief in them as Alex's always did, but the seriousness and stubbornness was clearly apparent on his face.

She was trying to figure out what was happening. She had made up that story, hadn't she?

It all made sense now. When she had been dropped into this world, she had been given a past. Of course, and this was hers. She just hadn't know it.

"Alexa—" he started.

She smiled, "It's Alex, please." She looked over his shoulder and grinned, "Luke!"

She introduced Luke to her brother, explaining – almost – everything that had happened. Troy shook her friend's hand, but he gave him a suspicious look as he did so. Alex rolled her eyes, remembering how overprotective he was of her.

Zuko noticed this and resented it. Having her brother – her older brother – onboard was going to cause a lot of problems. He sighed internally, now he couldn't—he stopped. What was he about to think?

_You know perfectly well what you were thinking. Now that her brother is here it'll be too hard for you to kiss her again, and I know you want to. She also has her own room now, remember? Sucks for you._

He shook these thoughts away as they set out for the sea again.

Troy had something on his mind as he stood at the rail with his younger sister. "Why are you here?" he asked softly.

She looked at him, puzzled, "I don't understand what you mean."

He looked at her sharply, "Are you mad? Why are you on _his_ ship? His father is the reason for dad's death."

She sighed and touched his arm, "I'll explain everything, but now know okay?"

He smiled softly, "Alright. I trust you Alex, I'd never doubt you." She smiled to herself, at least someone felt that way.

When they were out of sight of the shore Luke walked up to Alex, who was leaning her back against the rail, talking and laughing with Troy.

He placed an arm around her shoulders, purposely defying her brother. He smiled at her, "ready for practice?"

She grinned, "Am I ever. I feel the need to pent all this energy into something productive."

He laughed with her, "Well, I hope you're up to a challenge, we're finishing the rotation today."

Her stomach flopped, "Oh really?"

They had been rotating sparing partners several times, and today would be the last one. So far she had fought – and beaten- almost every person except for Jang and Zuko. She had fought Jang and lost, no surprise there, he was a master. But she had yet to fight Zuko. She didn't want to think about how—recent events would change the proceedings and outcome of the fight.

Troy looked confused, but everyone else was waiting for her and Luke. Troy followed them to watch in wonder at what was happening.

Zuko was dressed for a spar and there was a large empty space in the center of the deck. Troy wondered who the unlucky person was that would have to duel the person who had defeated Admiral Zhao.

He turned to share this thought with his sister but he was shocked to see her taking off the last of her armor. "What are you doing?" she did not respond, only patted him on the back briefly before stepping onto the arena opposite her opponent.

Troy stood with Luke, unable to do anything. He also noted bitterly his sister's attire; he didn't feel too fond of it. Of course, he should be easing up on her, she'd survived two years alone, and she was sixteen.

He nodded and she suddenly struck out with a stream of fire headed towards his stomach, too low to duck under, too high to jump over, too wide to dodge.

He gulped briefly and caught most of it, wincing at the small burns he felt developing on his body. He threw it back at her and she dodged it easily. Turning to watch it disappear she turned to grin at him, but gave a small gasp as a fire ball hit her. Tumbling over a few feet she got on her hands and knees, taking deep breathes.

Troy wanted to jump out and kill the bastard right now. Of course, his anger was so large he didn't notice what only Luke did, the look of fear on Zuko's face.

Luke saw Zuko's face tense, and his body hesitate as he saw her fall, but looked stone again when she got up and faced him.

She swung a leg around, striking him on the shoulder with her fire. He contradicted with a fire punch, which struck her alongside her face.

That was all it took, every angry and frustrated thought and feeling about the other came out in an intense battle of fire and wits.

Iroh saw this was going a little too far and stepped between them, blocking them from attacking once more.

He tried to look cheerful, "Well, I think it's a tie, why don't we all retire now, it's a bit late isn't it?"

Zuko and Alex glared at each other before parting ways.

- - - - - - - - - - -


	12. All For Love

Later, Alex was putting away her armor in her room when Zuko walked in and shut the door behind him. As Alex turned around to see who it was he rushed forward and kissed her soundly, moving her towards him.

For a second Alex was too startled to move, but when she realized what was happening she pushed him away.

Standing back in shock she demanded, "Why did you do that?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"You do if you don't want your ass kicked,"

He laughed, "You got me there," he stepped closer to her, until they were only a few breathes apart, "You owed me,"

"I understand that, but why?" she demanded, oblivious to what was going on.

He responded by pulling her against him until he was staring right into her eyes, "I rather enjoyed our—previous activity," he whispered against her face.

"If you mean the duel then I'm with you on that,"

He laughed and tipped her chin up, kissing her again, she did not resist. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself into his kiss.

He kissed her for a long time, as if he was afraid he would never be able to do it again.

Will he? She wondered as he gave her a quick kiss goodnight and left the room.

Outside, Luke had hidden behind the door as Zuko had exited, looking thrilled. Luke had come down to finally tell Alex how he felt. And what did he find? Alex making out with the Fire Nation prince. Oh how he felt so stupid right now. Why would she pick him over the prince?

He remembered her pushing him away and that gave him some hope.

He nodded, it was GO time.

He snuck into her room, closing the door softly behind him. She was sleeping peacefully, and he walked across to her bed silently. He knew he was going to do this, even if she never knew it was him.

Gently, as not to disturb her, he crawled across the top of her bed, hands and knees on either side of her. Gently, he lowered himself to her sleeping body.

She stirred for just a moment but resumed sleeping.

Taking a deep breath, he bent his head a little, and kissed her softly.

Even in her sleep she kissed back happily.

He opened his eyes and wondered about what he had just done. Had he really done it? Had he finally kissed the girl he had longed for? Had he really done it? His memory didn't lie. And as he grinned to himself he did it several more times before murmuring a goodnight and leaving.

He assumed Alex had been asleep. On the contrary, she had been awoken when he had mysteriously lain on top of her. In the dark she managed to safely open her eyes a bit to see who it was. She had been shocked, yet somewhat pleased, to see Luke there. And when he had kissed her in that sweet, sensual way that was so unlike Zuko's the thought of resisting never came to mind.

She finally went to sleep, happy memories filling her mind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Alex awoke in the night to the ship rocking violently back and forth. It seemed like the captain had let go of the wheel. As she quickly got up she looked outside and saw the enormous storm that was taking place outside.

Pulling on her jacket – replaced with her pay – she hurried out of the room, leaving the door open so that the hawk – which she had named Watcher – could escape if the time was needed.

She stumbled her way to the deck. Her hair was blowing all around her, the situation was too odd for her too worry about dress code at the moment.

The moment she stepped onto the deck she was soaked to the bone. She quickly ran to the wheel room, slipping a few times on the wet stairs.

To her horror, when she pushed the door open she discovered that no one was there. Panicked she raced back to the deck, only to collide with Zuko.

He gripped her shoulders to prevent her from falling. As they looked at each other the ship was thrown violently and they were thrown across the deck, sliding until they hit the metal wall.

Or at least, she did.

Zuko grabbed at the railing, but he missed. He had slid towards the opening for the anchor and was gripping the edge.

Alex looked up and saw his hand on the edge. She gasped and made herself slide over there. She knew that one quick pitch would send him to his death in the icy waters below.

After making sure she had a good grip on the hand rail, she grabbed his clenched hand with her free one.

Taking a deep breath, she helped him onto the deck.

He wanted to thank her, but yet another toss sent them sprawling across to the other side. She stood up quickly and he did the same.

"What's happening?" he shouted over the noise.

In any other situation she would have replied with a witty remark such as, "It's a storm you idiot." But now was not the time.

"The ship captain is gone!" she cried, "and I haven't seen the crew anywhere!"

Zuko immediately ran to the room to see for himself. As she held on tightly she got an idea. Whistling sharply, she heard the rustle of wings as Watcher landed securely on the railing in front of her.

"Search the ship, come back and report any signs of other crew besides me and Zuko!" she told the bird. It understood and flew below deck.

Zuko came back with a wet note clutched in his fist, "I found this!"

She nodded, "let's get below deck!"

They rushed down into the slightly drier area. The floor was flooded, but at least it wasn't raining.

Zuko unfolded the note and read it to himself. When she saw the increased look of anger that came over his face she touched his arm gently, "What's wrong? Where's the crew?"

He clenched his fists, "Pirates," he whispered, "Pirates were here. They—they snuck on and took the entire crew, even my uncle. They meant to leave me alone to die." He looked at her shocked face, "I think the only reason they didn't find you was because they ran out of time. Or else they would have taken you."

Suddenly, the ship stopped rocking and the storm resided. Rushing out onto deck they were relieved to see the pirate ship in front of them, only about a hundred yards.

Angry, Zuko yelled to a pirate who was standing nearby, the head pirate from when he had made that deal to capture the avatar, "Give me back my crew!" he shouted.

The pirate leered, "Give us the girl and we will!" the other pirates laughed in agreement.

Zuko clenched his fists in anger and looked at Alex, who was staring at the Pirate with a blank look on her face, she too recognized the pirate from the episodes. But she also knew why they wanted her, and it disgusted her immensely.

She looked at him, "If I don't get a chance to, will you tell my brother and—and Luke, that I love them?" she asked shakily.

He stared. Two things were running through his mind. The first was that she loved Luke. Did she really? Of course she did, he had never hurt her the way he had. Then it hit him. She thought she was going to give herself up to the pirates!

He grabbed her wrist and made her face him. Pulling her close to him he said firmly, "You're staying here, with me."

She looked up at him, "I have to. It means saving the crew, saving your uncle—and the people I love. If it means having to suffer for that, then that's fine with me.

"You care about them, don't you? Your brother and Luke?"

She gave a shaky breath outward, "It's what people do when—when they're in love." She couldn't look him in the eye.

He closed his eyes. He was right after all. He had taken too much out of that first kiss, he had taken it too far. She didn't love him, who ever would?

He opened his eyes and saw she was gone. But moments later she reappeared, wearing her armor.

He wanted to strangle her, to tell her she was crazy, to tell her he ordered her to stay put—to tell her he loved her.

He had finally admitted it, but it felt all too true. He rushed forward and took her in his arms, kissing her firmly.

She eagerly kissed him back, causing him to get the message that he should go even farther. He opened his mouth a little and his tongue collided with hers excitedly.

He was pulling her right against him now, and she had her hands around him neck tightly. He was both disappointed and relieved that she was wearing armor and not her usual clothing. He was disappointed for different reasons, but he knew that if she had not been wearing her armor, he might have gone a lot farther with her, going into a full on make out session with her right on deck.

The thought that he would never see her again caused him to become more aggressive in his kisses. This was where Alex noted the startling difference between Luke and Zuko. When she kissed Zuko it was both exhilarating yet frightening. But with Luke she knew he would never hurt her, never push her too far. When he had kissed her he had silently asked permission first.

But she didn't fight Zuko's passionate kissing. She knew deep inside that he was only doing it because he could, but she didn't care. She knew she would never see him again.

He reached to kiss her again but she pulled away, "I have to go," she looked at him, "Goodbye sir,"

That hurt. Not a hug goodbye, a farewell even. And she hadn't even called him by name. just "sir".

He nodded and wrote a shaky note saying he agreed and sent it with Watcher to the ship.

They received a reply moments later that said a small rowboat would be by to pick her up. And then after that the crew would be returned.

When the boat arrived the young pirate said, "It is requested that you remove your armor miss."

She nodded and did so, trying to ignore the hungry looks he was giving her as she stripped, she had stupidly forgotten her jacket. And she felt overly exposed to this creepy man.

She climbed into the boat without a backwards glance at Zuko.

And he watched his first love drift away out of his sight.

She was really gone.

And nothing he could do could bring her back.

_I'm sorry Alex, please don't be gone_

_I forgive you. I'm not going anywhere._

He remembered this promise and felt a stab of pain at knowing she was really, and truly gone.


	13. Bomb Squad

Alex remained stiff throughout the entire ride over to the daunting shape of the ship. Her mind was numb. This couldn't be happening, there was no way, right? Only last night her biggest worry was what to do about the whole Zuko situation. But now that seemed like a frivolous worry. She was being taken by pirates. She didn't even want to think about what they would do to her.

As she was led onto the ship she came face to face with the same pirates only a few months ago she had watched attempt to assassin Zuko on her TV. The captain smiled greedily at her, "Take her to the hold. We'll send his crew over later. _Maybe._" He grinned his disgusting smile at her.

It was then she realized what they had done. When the pirate had climbed aboard he must have placed a bomb or something on the ship's hull.

As they dragged her away she started to scream, "YOU BASTARD! WE MADE A DEAL!"

He laughed, "Never make a deal with a pirate miss, a lesson for you."

She turned her head to Zuko's ship, he was helpless, unaware of what was happening, "ZUKO! ZUKO! IT'S A TRAP! ZUKO!"

But he never heard her, she was dragged below deck. When she was thrown into a dark cell she was still saying his name between chocked sobs.

The crew was in the adjoining cell and the closest – Luke, Troy, and Iroh – looked over when they heard her sobbing. Iroh felt an awful chill when he heard her saying his nephews name like that. Something must be wrong.

He rushed to the edge with the others, letting the crew rest, by the looks of it, they would need it.

"Alex, what's wrong?" he asked seriously.

She heard his voice and crawled to the bars, wrapping her hands shakily around the wet metal, "Iroh! They're going to kill him they planted a bomb we made a deal I'm so stupid this is all my fault he's going to—"she couldn't finish.

Iroh froze, "We need to get back to the ship." He started to think of a plan.

Luke was on his knees next to Troy directly in front of Alex. He wrapped his hands around her's and touched his forehead to her's through the bars, "It's all right, nothing's going to happen."

For once Troy only felt the slightest objection to someone touching his sister. He had spent enough time down here with him to know he truly cared about his sister, unlike most of the scum on the ship. He thought of Zuko, of the way he looked at her, if he ever touched her he would kill him.

Alex stood up suddenly, "I have an idea," she went to the door to her cell and looked at the pirate who was half heartily watching them in the dim light.

"Excuse me sir," she said sweetly.

At the sound of a woman's voice he sat up straight and looked at her, adjusting his mustache. She felt sick at what she was about to do but did it anyway. "I think I might have hurt my back, could you check for me pretty please?" she smiled seductively at him.

Troy gagged a little. He knew his sister could act, but this was sick. He felt happy at the look of utter horror and wonder on Luke's face; he could tell this guy was all right.

The guard smiled hungrily at her and walked right up to the cell. She smiled again, "Could you just feel my back for me please, see if it feels all right?"

Troy watched Luke's face when the guard placed his hands on her back. He was surprised to see the look of not only jealousy but fear for her. He was truly starting to like this guy.

Luke turned to Troy, "Aren't you a little angry?" he asked bitterly.

Troy shook his head sadly, "She's had to do this before, when we were falsely arrested. I know it doesn't mean anything."

Luke shook his head in disgust as the guard rubbed her back eagerly, "_I_ can't even touch her like that," when Troy glared at him suspiciously he quickly added, "Not that I would even think about it of course."

Alex was trying to ignore the fact she was being groped by a fifty year old perverted man and instead on her task. She saw his keys by his waist and reached for them slowly, making it seem like she was doing something entirely different.

She smiled at he guard, "Thank you sir," he looked disappointed but sat back down, turning away and trying to sleep.

She wiggled the keys silently at Troy and he gave her thumbs up. She found the key and in one swift motion unlocked the door and hit the guard with her fire, knocking him out.

She stood over him, "You're incredibly vain if you think I would actually touch you like that." Smiling, she turned and let the crew out. They quickly hatched a plan and she ran after them on deck.

What followed next was fifteen minutes of full out battle between the firebenders and the pirates.

Zuko was pacing his ship when he noticed the fire blasts. He smiled, he knew his crew would rebel.

Alex took down another pirate as she simultaneously thought of a way to get that bomb away from the ship. She knew it would probably go off, but she didn't know how or when.

Spotting the captain she rammed him against a post, "Tell me how to stop the bomb!" she shouted.

He grinned and to her horror he threw something off the ship. "That lass, was the only was to set it off, a very small arrow which would strike the button on the bomb, the only way to set it off."

She gasped in horror and hit his head against the pole, knocking him out.

Most of the pirates were rounded up. She ordered the crew to get in boats and sail away. She told two different boats she was going with the other, and so they left without her, thinking she was on board.

After they had left the shoved the pirate crew into a rowboat and pushed them far away from the ship, using her fire to make small waves.

She turned and saw the crew had landed. It was time.

Zuko met his crew eagerly, but he was looking for Alex's cheerful face among the rest. He spotted the last two, Luke and Troy, get off.

"Where is she?" he asked.

Luke looked around and horrified eyes met with Zuko's and Troy's. They all turned to the ship and saw her standing on the bow, smiling sadly at them.

Zuko turned to Iroh, "Is she mental?"

Iroh remembered the bomb, "Prince Zuko! There is a bomb on the hull!"

As Zuko's face went into shock they heard a voice shout.

"Watcher!" Alex cried.

The entire ship turned and saw Watcher, bomb in his claws, speeding towards the ship. As he dropped it in her hand he turned and sped away towards the ship.

She looked at the bomb and knew that it would go off anyway, but she knew that if it went off by itself, in the water or not, it would destroy both ships. She knew that if it was manually shut off, as planned, it would only destroy one.

She looked over at the ship, they were all pressed against the deck, she saw them all look at her in horror. Giving them one last smile, all of them one last smile, she mouthed to them, 'Goodbye.'

She pressed the button.

The ship exploded in a fiery rage. Luke screamed out, "ALEX!"

The flames and the remainder of the ship sank into the ocean.

Troy was in shock, but he was proud. He knew his sister had a heart of gold, that she valued the life of others more than her own. He could never be more proud for as long as he lived.

Zuko was in a state of stunned anger. This couldn't be happening, no, not now, not ever.

Iroh bowed his head with the rest of the crew as he said, "We have gathered to honor the memory of our greatest soldier, Alex." He looked at the sad faces of the crew, "She gave her life for ours, even though we were undeserving, may her soul rest in peace," he looked at Zuko, at his stunned face, he saw an emotion he never expected in his nephew. He saw sorrow.

"Now, were you all going to celebrate without lil ole me?" a voice said.

Everyone turned in shock to see Alex sitting on the railing by the anchor hole, dripping wet but smiling. She had lived.

It was quiet at first, but once she stepped down from the rail the explosion was deafening. They charged her in happiness, hugging her tightly and telling her what a hero she was.

Zuko stood with his uncle out of the way, not daring to believe it.

The circle was smothering her in a way very similar to what had happened with her firebending. Although this way greater.

Iroh shouted at them to pay attention and they stilled. Someone brought her a towel and Luke wrapped it around her, not bothering to remove his arm from around her shoulder. He looked over her head at her brother. He didn't look happy, but he only gave him a look that said, 'do anything more than that and I will strangle you.'

The message was understood loud and clear.

Iroh cleared his throat, "As you all know, I have been looking for an army captain for a very long time,"

Zuko stared at his uncle, Why was he talking about this now?

Iroh smiled, "I would like to tell you—I have found _her_."

Everyone was shocked until people started cheering and patting her again. She was stunned. Her, captain? This was—incredible. But yet she was grinning, this was all right.

Later that night Alex was unpacking her things into her much larger Captain's quarters. It was a bit frightening to think that she was second in command of the entire crew. Uncle had told her that he wanted her to be first in charge, that he was too old, but she had said all right halfheartedly. As far as she was concerned, he was in charge. After all, all she was in charge of were the actual fighting parts. She didn't want to deal with sailing and junk.

She had neglected to mention she had also saved the pirates as well, knowing that wasn't what you did in a war. But they couldn't do much where they were right now. She smiled to herself at the thought of the pirates drifting out in the sea in their minuscule rowboat.

Her door opened and closed and she turned, hoping to see Luke, and she did.

He walked over to her, standing a few feet away. She smiled, "Hey Luke."

He extended a hand, "I'm glad you're back," he said softly.

She smiled and jumped at her, hugging him tightly. He instantly hugged her back, "I thought I would never get to tell you."

She looked at him, her forehead against his, "tell me what Luke?"

He took a deep breath, "More like, do this," he leaned forward and kissed her quickly and softly.

She remembered again how different it all was. When she had kissed Zuko right before she had left, he had been in control. But now, she felt at ease and secure with Luke. She smiled at his timidity. He looked at her, frightened. She could do so much to him as captain now. Ban him, lock him away, anything.

She only smiled and pulled him back to her, "I wanted to do this too," she took control, pulling him deep into her kiss.

He was surprised, but pleased, and kissed her softly back, knowing he shouldn't go too far. She admired this.

Zuko had been coming to tell her the recent news when he saw them in her room through the peephole. He was not surprised she was doing this, she had said she loved him. He saw how gently, and so differently than his, he kissed her, and how she seemed unafraid, unlike when she was with him.

He sighed and went up deck.

Luke smiled down at her; Iroh wanted me to tell you he's celebrating with a music night."

She laughed, "And?"

"Let's go," he smiled and took her hand in his, gently leading her to the deck.

She was wearing different clothes he noticed happily, he liked them.

She had on a dark red cropped tank top with the same low neck styling, and some cut off black pants with flat shoes.

He smiled and reached up to her bun, "He said it's free dress," he whispered.

He felt such a longing when her hair tumbled beautifully around her face.

She smiled, "come on."


	14. Letters

**Anna Nalick**

**"In The Rough"**

* * *

Troy was a bit surprised when he saw Luke and Alex come onto the deck, hand in hand. They let go once in sight, but he knew they liked each other. He smiled, he'd have a nice long talk with him later.

But them, just like he did, the crew noticed her fully. Few of the men whistled, and he wanted to smack them. She did look hot by guy standards. He looked over and noticed Zuko's face and felt a sickening feeling. That sick bastard better not look at his sister.

Alex laughed and Iroh smiled, "Why are you all standing there? Let's dance!"

The music was awesome, resembling what she had always thought of as her high school dances: pure fun. The music was loud and fast, and small lights were flying across the deck as the crew danced in the dark.

Alex was dancing close to Luke, feeling the heat between them. No one noticed them at all, and she was glad.

The music stopped and suddenly the spotlight was on her. She blinked into the light as Iroh's voice said, "I would like to request that Captain Alexa sing us one last song," he smiled, "Alex," everyone started to clap.

Alex and Iroh had agreed on calling her either Captain Alex or Captain Alexa. Obviously if they were around enemies they would want them to think she was male.

Nervously, she made her way to the front of the ship, not sure what she was going to sing.

Troy was trying not to laugh, his sister couldn't sing for her life. He had heard her before and knew this for a fact.

She looked to her left and spotted what looked similar to a guitar. As she held it to the curiosity of the crew, painful memories of sitting with Josh as he taught her came back, then she knew what to sing, and she did so quietly and softly, a slow, sad song:

"You say you feel while holding diamonds in your hand…it's your fault for running holding diamonds, I said. And I offer no sympathy for that… I hear that it was you who died alone. And I offer no sympathy for that. Better off I sparkle on my own," her strumming got faster and she sang loudly and sadly, "some day yeah yeah, love will find me, in the rough. Some day…yeah yeah, love will find me, be enough." She paused, "I turn around three times and wound up at your door. Now you say you don't know all you did not know before. And I offer no sympathy for that. I hear that it was you who died alone. And I offer no sympathy for that, better off I sparkle on my own…"

The crew was clapping alone to her voice, Troy was a bit stunned at what she was doing. Not only was her voice amazing, but she was playing that instrument that the entire ship had been unable to figure out how to work.

She was putting more passion into her words now, and Troy saw a sad and painful look in her eyes, a look that made him wonder what it was he had missed all these years.

"I got your love letters, and I threw them all away, I hear you think that I'm crazy. I'm driving ninety-five and I'm driving you away, I shine a little more lately…"

She started to finish, and Troy knew something was definitely wrong. So did Luke.

She finished strumming and the crew burst out in applause, but then it was time for bed.

JOSH'S LETTER FROM Alex, a week earlier:

_Josh,_

_I'm fine, don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing, I have nothing to fear. I'm glad she told you about Luke, he's been a great help. but I do miss you, and the others of course, but you really. I hope you get this in time, I've invested in a carrier hawk who has done more to help me than deliver messages. _

_But I do admit, I'm terrified of what I'll do when I reach the north pole, I know I might have to fight Zuko, and I scared me because well…_

_I think I might just be falling in love with him._

_I love you Josh, so much more each day._

_Alex_

Luke found Alex in her room, sitting on her bed, reading a letter (from Josh, who was outraged that she would think such a thing, and giving her all these reasons to reject him)

She smiled when he came in. he asked her if she was all right and she told him she missed her friends.

He walked over and she stood up and kissed him softly, he looked at her, "get some sleep, all right?" she nodded and he left.

Troy caught him in the hall, after seeing everything, grabbing him by the sleeve he hissed, "Come with me."

Zuko took this moment to rush into her room and close the door softly behind him. Alex smiled and turned, "Luke I— Zuko!" she gasped.

He walked over to her, "DO you love him?" he whispered,

She stared at him a moment before glaring at him and walking into her bathroom. She now had a private bath, "I don't feel like sharing."

When the door had closed he spotted the letter on the bed and picked it up, reading.

_Alex,_

_Ok, you need to just sit down and soak your head in some cold water. Are you crazy? You can't love him! This is insane, you barely know the guy!_

Zuko grinned and read on.

_He's a monster Alex, a total loony. You need to clear your head and get some fresh air, maybe that Luke guy can help…_

He stopped. Why did the sender mention Luke helping…wasn't Luke the one they were talking about?

_I know I can't change your mind, but you know what you'll have to do don't you? When the time comes? You know what Tina will think? What do you think she'll say when she finds out that not only are you fire nation and working for the Prince, but that you're in love with him as well…._

_I love you Alex, be careful._

_Josh_

The letter fell from his hands onto the bed. _What?_ She _loved_ him? Then why had she been kissing Luke? To make him feel better? This was too crazy, yet too exciting.

He slowly took his shirt off and tossed it in the corner softly. He waited in front of the bathroom door, waiting.

When she opened the door she was startled to see him there, shirtless.

He grabbed her and kissed her sharply. She once again felt that frightening feeling of falling, but this time he caught her. He literally did.

He picked her up and took her to her bed, laying her down; he softly climbed on top of her. When she protested he swept her up in his kiss again.

She stopped fighting and kissed him back, not sure what was going on.

He kissed her for a few more minutes before rolling over onto his back, next to her.

She sighed and placed her head on his chest, relaxing as he wrapped his arms around her.

Maybe, just maybe, he thought, someone could love him.


	15. Party Scene

**Natasha Beningfield**

**"Unwritten"**

**

* * *

**

Luke was gently pushed into a lit room by Troy, who glared at him softly, "I saw you with my sister." He said quietly.

Luke gulped. "Troy I can explain—"

Troy held a hand up, "No, don't," he smiled, "I'd much rather it be you than that Zuko."

Luke smiled but suddenly frowned, "Zuko?"

Troy blinked, "Duh. Man, I thought it was obvious, either I was wrong or you are extremely daft." When Luke only blinked he sighed, "Haven't you sent he way he looks at her? With those greedy eyes of his? How he practically undresses her with his eyes?"

Luke was shocked, "That's impossible, Zuko's doesn't have enough heart to even remotely like anyone."

Troy shook his head, "I don't think he likes her," Luke sighed with relief, "I think he loves her."

Luke choked, "_What?_" he was stunned.

But now that he thought about it, he remembered the look on the Prince's face when he had knocked her to the ground, he remembered the way he had looked at the ship…and the crew, how could he be so stupid. Something was going on that they weren't telling him. He remembered how, on the pirate ship, they had all been looking out the window, except him. He remembered how their faces had been awkward as they looked back at him. They had seen something, and they knew he liked her.

With a sickening thought he thought of all those times he had gone onto the deck to see the crew whispering softly after Alex herself had been up there with Zuko only moments before. He remembered leaving her to go into town with Zuko, staying on the ship with Zuko…

He collapsed on a stool, not daring to believe it. He told Troy what he was thinking and Troy almost freaked out.

"She can't actually _want_ to go along with this?" he was outraged, "He must be forcing her."

Luke hesitated then said the one thing the entire crew had uneasily kept away from Alex's brother, "And Troy, for a week—for a week she slept in his room."

"_WHAT!"_ Troy exploded. Luke told him she hadn't been in the same bed but Troy wouldn't listen, insisting that Zuko had been seducing his poor sister. But Luke wasn't so sure.

Maybe, maybe she had only gone along with his kisses because she was playing with him. But she didn't seem like that. Maybe she felt sorry for him, because of course she would fall for the prince.

It was then they hatched a plan.

* * *

The next morning Alex groaned sleepily and adjusted her head on Zuko's chest. 

Her eyes flew open. _Where_ was her head?

She tilted her head and saw Zuko sleeping peacefully underneath her.

She blinked, what had happened? She had been kissing him, then they had fallen asleep. That's all.

Her stomach flopped. That's all? If they were found like this—if Luke found her like this, he would be heartbroken.

She climbed out of the bed quickly, trying to clear her head as she put on her armor like she was supposed to do each and every day. This wasn't her fault, right? He had jumped her…but she hadn't fought back.

Ok, she thought to herself as she swept her hair back, that was the last time. It'll never happen again. He's crazy, insanely mental.

She turned and looked at his sleeping figure, she thought about waking him up but stopped. She didn't want to face him, not now.

Sighing, she exited the room.

* * *

She was found later talking up-deck with Iroh. Luke and Troy exchanged looks before approaching them. 

Alex turned and smiled at them, and they could see her armor now bore the row of gold frames across the chest of her armor to mark her as a captain. "Hello there, we were just discussing a brief stop."

"We just stopped," it was Zuko; he was standing next to Luke now. He looked at Alex but she only looked at him with that professional look she reserved for duty.

"That may be, but you forget your highness, that was almost two weeks ago. And besides, this is a special occasion." She smiled at Luke and Troy, "There is a celebration in the city of Nirobia. If you didn't already know, Nirobia is a no man's land, everyone is welcome there, even though technically it is ruled by the earth kingdom's Lord Dang. There's a celebration tonight in honor of Lady Keldary's seventeenth birthday." She laughed, "She personally sent General Iroh an invitation, seeing as how he became such good friends with her father."

Zuko grumbled something to himself about betrayal but as usual no one listened.

Troy grinned, "Fantastic, Lord Dang always throws great parties for regular events; imagine what this will be like."

She smiled, "It's settled then, you should tell the crew they can free dress for this, and tell them to wash up," she added grimly.

Luke nodded and walked away. Troy smiled at her, "yes captain." Before he too turned and walked away.

Iroh left, leaving Zuko alone with Alex. She was standing at the bow, writing a letter, Watcher standing nearby, preparing to leave with her message.

_Josh,_

_Please don't fret; I've sorted things out now. Everything is fine, perfectly fine. I hope Tina is fairing well and that you are too, I've got a bit of a surprise for you when I see you. I miss you Josh, ever so much each passing day._

_With all my love,_

_Alex_

She sent the note off with Watcher, watching him leave swiftly over the ocean and disappear into the trees that lined their path now.

She gasped back a sob and turned around, giving a cry at seeing Zuko standing there. She bowed her head, "You highness," she said dryly.

He returned her bow, "I wished to have a moment alone with the captain,"

"I believe you've had enough of that," she said in her low, menacing tone.

He glared at her, "You could have stopped me."

She walked up to him quickly and angrily, until she was standing right against him, "You _ambushed_ me. What was I supposed to do? You frightened the hell out of me, you took advantage of me!"

He gaped at her, "I only kissed you!" he hissed quietly.

She continued to glare at him, "Maybe, but that's not all you were thinking about doing." She stood back, "stay away from me, I mean it." She took a deep breath, "I never want to speak to you again, outside of my duties."

She walked past him, not giving him a backward glance.

When they walked down the path at around one in the afternoon, the entire crew was laughing and having a great time. They were welcomed into the celebration eagerly.

As the crew ran off to have fun Alex remained with Iroh and Zuko as she had been requested to do.

Iroh greeted his old friend warmly, "It has been too long my friend," he turned to Alex and Zuko, who were standing tall with their hands behind their back, "I would like to introduce you to my nephew, Prince Zuko," the lord smiled and bowed his head.

Iroh looked at Alex, he had noticed the curious looks his friend was giving her, "And this is my best fighter. Lord Dang, please meet Captain Alexa."

The old lord looked startled at her title, but warmly shook her head, "You must meet my daughter, she's around here somewhere, I'm sure she'd love to meet you."

Iroh and Lord Dang walked away, leaving Zuko with Alex again. She turned to go and bumped into him. Startled, he muttered an apology and she walked away silently. He turned after a few seconds and watched her retreating back, with her long black hair swishing behind her. He tried to clear his mind and walked away.

* * *

Tina and Josh walked into the festival easily because they were from the Earth Kingdom. They marveled at the sight. Tina turned to Josh, "Some party eh?" 

He smiled and watched Tina disappear into the crowd. When she had gone he eagerly unfolded the note that lay hidden in his hand. He read Alex's brief note twice, feeling his stomach leap for joy at her words. She missed him, she really did.

He sighed and pushed the paper back into his pocket. He would write a reply and use a town bird later.

* * *

Alex was walking alongside the group of dancing people – and marveling at how they listened to the same music she did at home – when she saw a young woman crying on the sidelines. 

Startled, she sat beside her, "what's wrong?"

The woman looked at her, "OH, it's just too much for me."

"What is? Maybe I can help?"

The young woman wiped her eyes with a napkin, "it's just, up until recently I loved this man, the man I was engaged to. I love him, I really do. But he's too fierce with me. He gets angry when I speak to another man, he sometimes hurts me when we fight…and I always looked past that and to his good side, which he only showed at points when we were only, and very rarely and briefly. But recently I met a man, a commoner, who I feel so close to. I love him also, and he truly loves me. Not my title, my money…but _me._ I know I have to choose, but I just can't."

Alex bit her lip, "you should follow your heart. But I would go with the commoner myself."

She gave a small laugh, "I wouldn't dare speak to my father about it. I know he would agree, but I'm too timid to do such a thing." She looked at Alex, "Thank you for listening though. I'm Lady Kelderly by the way."

Alex laughed, "Actually, your father wanted me to meet you, I'm captain Alexa of general Iroh's fleet. But call me Alex."

The girl's eyes widened, "Captain?"

They talked for a while on this subject before each girl parted ways.

It was when she was passing the slightly heightened stage when the spotlight shone on her.

"Ladies and gentlemen." One of the band members said. Everyone stopped and looked at either him or her, "I've been told that this lovely lady's got a voice worth hearing. How about it?"

There was an eruption of cheering and Alex sheepishly climbed onto the stage, catching Luke's smug smile she glared at the traitor.

She was stumped at what to sing, but she remembered Lady Kelderly and made up her mind. She smiled as the band played a slower beat, just what she needed, she took a breath and sang:

"I. am. unwritten, can't read my mind. I'm undefined." She paused as people watched her, "I'm just beginning, pen's in my hand, ending unplanned. Staring at the blank page before you, open up the dirty window, let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find. Reaching, for something in the distance, so close you could almost taste it. Release your intermissions, feel the rain on your skin!" she started to sing in a more upbeat tone as people started to clap along with her.

"No one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in. no one else, no one else can speak the words on your lips. Drench yourself in words unspoken, live your life with arms wide open. Today is, where your book begins. The rest is still unwritten…"

She jumped down into the crowd and walked around as the band played a filler. A female singer started to pick up where she left off, and she sang along with her.

Tina stopped and clapped along.

Josh stopped dead and looked at the girl, who was walking toward him, singing. He remembered this song, Alex had sung it at a dance before.

The fire nation girl saw him just standing there as the others danced and smiled at him, singing. She took his hands and began to dance in an up beat way as she sang along with the others.

Suddenly, just as the words, "feel the rain on your face…" came out of their mouths, soft rain began to fall from the sky.

Alex laughed as she danced with Josh, although she had no idea who he was. He didn't recognize her, and although she might have noticed him, she wasn't paying attention.

Josh was smiling, but he looked over and saw Zuko standing there, looking uncomfortable just standing alone. He stared at the prince, if he was here, that meant Alex must be nearby, on his ship.

The song ended along with the sudden rain and Alex clapped and cheered along with the others.

But before Josh could turn back to the odd girl, she had vanished.

He blinked and tried to locate her among the crowd, but when he finally found her, she was dancing with another fire nation boy (Luke). So instead, he turned to who could only be the Prince. He absently looked around him for perhaps any sign of Alex, but to no avail. He realized that she must be on his ship.

He spotted Tina and walked quickly over to her.

"We have to go," he murmured in her ear.

She looked surprised, "But why? The party just started."

He sighed, "I think I found Alex,"


	16. So Close

She froze and looked at him in surprise, "What? Where is she?"

"On a ship, we have to go, they're leaving," he had looked over her head to see Zuko and the strange girl leaving, the crew following behind. But before he could catch up they had already closed the gangplank.

* * *

Alex was beaming from the excitement, her cheeks flushed. She turned to Zuko gaily, "Wasn't that wonderful?"

He grumbled and she frowned at his reaction, until she remembered what she had said to him previously. Sticking to her word, she clamped her mouth shut tightly.

* * *

Josh watched as they sailed away, and it was then he knew he had to get to the North Pole quickly.

* * *

Once on board the ship they took their time casting off. The crew had had a little too much to drink, and they had to work slowly in order to preserve their safety.

Alex had spotted Zuko on the bow of the deck and had started to approach him when she heard the surprising shout from the crew.

"Sir, Captain! There has been a sighting of a rebel gang off the coast just ten miles ahead!"

Alex looked at the man and nodded sharply, "We should look into it. Thank you private."

She looked over at Zuko, who was standing erect with his hands clasped behind his back.

She bit her lip, "Is that all right sir?"

He turned and looked at her, his face cold, "It doesn't really matter what I say, does it?" he stopped and stared at her face. It was so familiar, the way she looked right now. Her face was confused, startled, and afraid (though she showed so little of her true fear). He had seen that face before, when he had felt the utmost longing for a savior. And as the light shone behind her face, casting it into shadow, he knew it at once.

She had been there, Alex had. She had been witness to his defeat; she had watched his demise as he had groveled for his father's mercy.

And when he had chanced a look at the crowd, and in that crowd he had seen the smug look on his sister's face, he had seen more than just his uncle's face that had fear for _him_ on it. He had seen Alex, she had been so frightened for him, he had seen it on her face.

Strange memories came back to him as he stared down at this familiar girl:

_He was walking through the palace gardens, a young man of thirteen. Chancing a look over the garden walls he had spotted a young girl sitting atop the roof. She was regarding the gardens with a wishful eye, yet she did not spot him among the flowers. The wind blew her hair around her face and she automatically pushed it aside. _

_It was then Zuko had developed his first crush. _

_Every day he casually ventured out onto the grounds in hopes o spotting her. He did this for a period of two weeks before his father caught him and made him train harder. _

_It wasn't until a year later that he had decided to take that lucky stroll through the main city square. And as he had been eyeing the vendors lazily, he had spotted someone ahead of him. _

_There, eyeing a vegetable cart, was the girl. She was a year older now, and her womanly figure showed immensely in the casual clothes she wore. She was selecting items with a bored expression as she placed them in her basket and made her way down the square. _

_As if in a trance, Zuko had followed her until she disappeared inside a small house just outside the busy square. Cautiously peering through the window he saw her talking to an elder boy ( Troy ) and seemed to be arguing about something. _

_"I'm telling you, if Zuko becomes Fire Lord it'll bring the entire nation closer to ruins than it already is!" Troy stated. _

_The girl (Alex) turned and glared at him, "I don't think he's all that bad. And how would you know? You've never met him." _

_Troy __scoffed, "Neither have you! And besides, like father, like son." _

_It was then Zuko had gone back to the palace, and it would be three hours later that he had stood up for his people, in a desperate attempt to prove the unknown boy wrong. It was that day he fought his father, and it was that day his life changed forever. _

She was glaring at him, unaware of his memory. Tapping her foot lightly she inquired, "Is there anything else sir? Or am I permitted to make sure the men are ready?"

He looked down at her serious face, and just behind those amber eyes he saw fear, honest to gods fear. He reached out to gently touch her arm but she took a step back. He knew then that he would never touch her willingly again.

She nodded quickly and turned, arms crossed over her chest as she made her way across the bow.

After she had left Zuko was still thinking about her. He knew now why he had felt that small connection upon meeting her, he knew now why he longed to touch her again. But he also knew that she had been wrong, perhaps for the first time in her life, she had been wrong about him.

He really was a heartless monster.


	17. What Now?

After the men had unloaded onto the mainland, Alex took a look around her. It was unusually creepy, and the forest in front of them seemed too familiar. _Much_ too familiar.

Taking a look over her shoulder she noticed several of the officers were arguing.

Sighing, she walked over, seeing Zuko had noticed the trouble and was also coming over to see what was wrong.

One of the men – a red faced man who's name escaped her – turned to Alex in a flustered manner.

"Captain, we don't have enough rhinos to host all the ranking officers. We need two officers to share one, but we can't decide who."

Alex sighed at the immaturity of the situation and after giving Zuko a quick glance stated, "I'll share with Zuko."

Zuko looked at her, "You mean _you'll_ share with _me._ " He said coldly.

She turned to walk away, glaring at him as she did so.

She mounted the rhino, intentionally taking the front position. Zuko glared at her turned back before climbing up behind her.

As they started off he made sure to stay an adequate distance away from her slightly shorter figure. But as they ventured deeper and deeper into the forest, he got an uneasy feeling that they were not alone. He looked at Alex and noticed she had recently begun staring up at the trees ahead in a look of surprised horror.

Looking ahead in the direction she was he noticed odd shapes looming high above the forest floor.

Suddenly he was thrown forward as the beast stopped sharply. He looked down at Alex to prompt her bad driving when he saw her hand was out to the side, her hand up. She was looking up at one particular shape with a fixed expression. He too looked and saw a shape make its way across the tree tops.

Alex turned to the men, who were staring at her, waiting for her signal. She realized now that her authority – and thus responsibility – was all too real. Anything she said these men would follow. If she made a poor choice she risked their lives, and hers.

Her stomach did a flop but she calmly signaled the men silently to dismount.

She heard a twig snap and turned to see her worst suspicion: a band of rebels had surrounded them.

And they weren't just any rebels, the were Jet and his freedom fighters.

Alex felt her mouth go dry at seeing the boy. This was really him, he was real.

He was grinning wickedly at them. Turning to Zuko he gave a mocking bow, "Greeting your _highness_. And what do we simple folk owe this grand pleasure to?" he glanced at Alex then stopped. Standing, he made his way slowly to where she stood. Raising a brow he said, "And to what do I owe _this_ pleasure miss? And to think I'll have to kill such a pretty girl." He touched her chin and she shoved him away.

"Leave me alone Jet," she whispered icily.

He seemed taken aback at the recognition of his name but only smiled, "Well, perhaps you won't mind if we…"

It happened so fast, many clouds of smoke overcame the group. Alex fell to her knees, hands clasping her throat as she tried to breathe. Her vision was growing faint, and the sounds of the soldiers pleading for mercy soon became faint.

Then, the world went black.

**_

* * *

_**

Kyle regarded Katara with a query eye as she moved through the water. Or in a matter of speaking, she was moving _with_ the water.

She looked up, saw him, did a double take, and screamed as the water fell from her hands.

She smiled a little, "You scared me,"

He looked away, embarrassed, "I'm sorry, you're really good you know."

She laughed, "I should be, I'm a master after all."

As he opened his mouth to speak Sokka came up quickly. Taking his sister by the arm he muttered something about a water leak and led her away, after first glaring at Kyle over his shoulder.

Kyle sighed and shook his head. Another attempt at being alone with the Waterbender had been foiled by her protective brother. As he walked along the bridge he thought about wild ways he could eliminate that problem.

He turned his head when he heard a sound and watched with a smile as Aang and his bison flew over his head, giving Kyle a wave from above.

Kyle waved back but after he dropped his hand he frowned. This was still so unusual he couldn't believe he wasn't dreaming. But a nasty fall from the bridge into the icy water (at which he had been rescued from by Katara, to his humiliation) proved everything was real.

Either that or he had extremely vivid dreams. He grinned and kicked at a loose tile on the bridge's path. Things were going very well for him in fact. He was sure that his friends would come to his rescue shortly.

He looked at the sky.

At least, he _hoped_ they were coming.

**

* * *

**

Josh once again unfolded another letter from Alex. He read it three times before sinking back to the ground. He had been so sure she had been taken hostage, but by her letter she seemed fine. Apparently this Zuko character wasn't giving her too much trouble.

He scanned the area for any sign of Tina, but she had long since disappeared.

Suddenly, a voice was heard singing off-key in the distance.

"This is our song we sing, sing, sing. Underneath the trees, trees, trees. This is our song, song, song, and we sing it for so long, long, long…"

Josh grinned as he re-read the letter and joined in with her.

"We sing this song as we salute the flag of Green View High--TOOT TOOT!"

She emerged from the trees (and Josh hastily shoved the letter into his pocket) and eyed him, "You don't have to make fun of my singing." She stated dryly.

He laughed, "Of course I do, it's traditional to make fun of your singing."

She gave him a look before dumping a small pile of wood at his feet, "Fine Mr. Critic, you can build the fire then."

He smiled, "Of course my dearest."

She scoffed and walked away to get some berries of something to eat.

He knelt down and absently began placing the wood in a triangle, thinking all the while about Alex.


	18. Fall to Love

Alex awoke with an extreme head ache and a cut on her cheek. Sitting up slowly she looked around her and was horrified to see that she was all alone in the clearing. She cursed her stupidity and stood slowly, adjusting to the feeling of walking again.

Looking to the trees she could see no more houses. They must have dumped her off in the middle of the forest.

Walking forward she pondered over what to do. She highly doubted she could undermine and entire rebel army single handedly.

She glanced up and stopped, noticing the faint shadows of the rebel "fortress."

She smiled, they wouldn't expect her to know how to get up there. But to her utter dismay she found no sign of the ropes used to pull herself up to the heights.

However, she did spot a branch nearby, and, sighing with resent, climbed atop it. It was a long way up, but it was her only option aside from burning the entire forest to the ground.

* * *

Luke once again attempted to struggle against his bonds. He had been shoved in a fire proof hut with Troy and Zuko. They had assumed they were not dangerous and had foolishly placed them together.

Zuko, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, said confidently and with boredom, "That's never going to work,"

Luke glared at him, angry also at Troy for still being victim to the sleeping gas, "Well why don't you figure out a way out of here Mr. I'm-so-clever."

Zuko opened one eye and looked at the boy, who was beside him, "I was until you stupidly interrupted me. But what else is new."

Luke would have jumped at him if not for the fact he was tied.

He knew he wouldn't get out of here like this, "Alex will save us."

Zuko gave a small laugh, "In your dreams."

Luke's previous plan – the one he had hatched with Troy – arose in his mind once more, "Don't be talking, I know what you're thinking when you look at her you sick freak,"

Zuko gave that same, mocking laugh, "Don't give yourself so much credit, you have no idea what's going on."

Luke rolled his eyes, "I'm not that stupid, and it's so obvious it's sad." He narrowed his eyes at the Prince, "You have no idea who she is,"

Zuko laughed, "And I suppose you do?"

Luke didn't laugh, "Yeah, I do in fact. I've known her since we were young," he whispered coldly.

Zuko raised his brows and looked at the older boy. Had he really? But Alex had said—

_She also said she didn't know her brother, but then she remembered. Maybe he does know her. You're so vain to think you even had a chance. Why would she have anything to do with you, when she's known him forever, even if she doesn't realize it? You are so hopelessly lost in all this that you are forgetting you're true goal: to capture the Avatar. She's made you loose sight of what you really need, what you really **want**. She's distracting you, she's changing you. You're weak, you will always be weak— _

Zuko mentally shut the voice off, even though he knew it was right. He really was being distracted. He needed to concentrate on getting out of here.

Luke looked over and saw that Troy was watching him, eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"It was you, wasn't it?" he asked in a chilled voice.

Luke looked at who he had thought to be a friend, "What are you talking about?"

Troy only scoffed and turned his head to look at Zuko. Both prince and soldier eyed each other with hate and resentment.

"I'm going to take this opportunity to touch on something that's been on my mind for awhile now," said Troy in a mockingly dignified manner, "Let me make this clear: if you _ever_ go near my sister again, I'll kill you." He said flatly.

Zuko smiled wickedly, "You make it sound like she had nothing to do with it."

"She didn't, I know she didn't."

"I beg to differ."

"Prove it," Troy shot back, "You don't have anything on her beside your illusions."

Zuko shifted his weight, "I don't feel like sharing."

Suddenly, the fabric to the room opened and all three men looked, expecting to see the rebel leader. But the flap closed before either of them could get a good look.

Zuko was nearest the door, and thus the figure moved silently to him. Up close he was surprised to see it was Alex. She looked surprised to find herself face-to-face with him, but she only nodded, "Are you all right?" she whispered, "who else is here?"

Luke spoke up, "Alex, Troy and I are here also, we're bound and the chains are fireproof."

Alex cursed in her mind and sat back on her heels, wondering what to do. She obviously couldn't burn the chains, but what else could she do?

Biting her lip she thought. The rebels weren't that smart, she knew enough about Jet to realize that. So there had to be a weakness…

She snapped her fingers, that was the answer to the dilemma.

She moved to reach behind Zuko but hesitated. Looking him in the eye he only looked back and raised a brow as if to say, 'well?'

Sighing, she reached behind him with one hand and fingered the clasp. But she was unable to reach it. She started to tell him to move but noticed his feet were also secured to the floor, making that impossible.

She tried to move both hands behind him but to her dismay she discovered she could barely fit one.

Looking him in the eye with a fierce hate he knew what she had to do, and so did she.

Troy watched in disbelief as his sister practically climbed into the lap of the Prince. He was about to speak up when he noticed she was reaching behind him and fingering the clasp again. He then decided to contain his hate inside—for now.

Alex felt extremely uncomfortable in this situation, and she could tell he was also. This was definitely the Zuko she had grown up knowing at "home."

After Zuko she untied her brother, and then moved to Luke. This too was awkward, but not as much.

After everyone was released they went to find the others. Alex sent Luke and Troy off after the soldiers while she and Zuko went in search of Jet.

Zuko walked ahead of her on the rickety platforms, not watching the surface beneath him.

But Alex did, and this is why she saw it right before it happened.

The plank Zuko had just stepped on gave way beneath his feet and he plummeted down, giving out a cry.

Startled, she too cried out and fell to her knees, reaching for his hand.

She barely caught him, but as she moved to pull him up she heard the sickening creak of the boards. She realized that if she pulled him up they would both fall, but she couldn't very well let him go to his death.

He looked up at her, "GO! You have to let go Alex, let go!"

She shook her head, "I—I can't!"

He struggled against her grip, as if to free himself from her grasp, "let me go! I don't want to hurt you!" when she didn't let go he sighed, "I'm sorry Alex!"

Alex cried out as his hand caught fire, causing her to release his hand in both pain and surprise.

She watched in horror as he disappeared below her and towards the ground.

She stood up and ran across the bridge madly so as not to hear the sickening sound that would echo once his body had hit the ground.


	19. Forgive

She collapsed in front of another building, shaking from the sobs. How could she have let that happen? Her, of all people, who had always believed he had had a good side hidden inside of him. Hadn't she seen that side for herself?

"Alex?" a familiar voice said above her.

She raised her head and heard the voice coming from inside the building, it was Iroh.

She opened the curtain and found the crew; they too were tied up in the same fashion. She untied Iroh, and they each in turn freed the others.

Iroh looked at his captain and noticed she was shaking uncontrollably. It was then he thought of what had happened.

His eyes narrowed in fear, "Where is Zuko?"

She looked at him, a tear rolling down her cheek. Sobbing, she poured out the story of what had happened, although hardly any of it was understood. Yet Iroh had heard enough to get a clear picture of what had happened.

He felt an immense pain inside him he would never duplicate. After losing his son to the Face Stealer so many years ago, Zuko had been like a second son to him. And he had already been through losing Zuko to an extent when his ship had erupted in flame. But now he knew it was all too real.

Alex looked at Iroh, who was kneeling on the floor, eyes closed. She bent down and gently touched his arm, "Iroh, we need to leave," she said silently.

Iroh looked at her, at the one person beside himself who had seen the good in Zuko. He looked at the girl he had known remotely for so many years. He looked at the girl he had once seen Zuko looking at in the garden. He looked at the girl who had once before risked her life for Zuko, and now he had returned the favor. In all his life he would never be more proud of his nephew than at this very moment.

They met Luke and Troy on the bridge and they hastily escaped the place. Luke informed Alex as he helped her down from a branch that they had imprisoned the rebels in their own chains, they would be found by someone much later and taken into a secure prison area.

Alex and the others ran through the forest quickly, in case over looked rebels were hidden in the surrounding shrubbery.

Alex ran past the area where Zuko had fallen and she stopped and looked in the direction of the nearby clearing.

Luke stopped and took her hand, "We have to go!"

She looked at him, "I need to do something," she gulped, "If I'm not there in five minutes, leave without me."

Luke hesitated but finally nodded and ran off, after first giving her a quick peck on her cheek.

Startled, she shook her head and dove into the brush.

She came to the clearing in a matter of seconds, and what she saw broke her into pieces.

Zuko's body lay sprawled on the forest floor, his arm bent at a frightening angle. His face was cut and bruised, and his chest was still.

Biting back a sob, Alex shakily approached him. She sat down beside him and looked at him. He was so peaceful, yet the look on his face was not fear. He had not died in fear; he had died in love, in care, and in compassion.

Alex bent her head to his chest and closed her eyes. She heard no heartbeat.

Crying now, she ran a finger over the scared side of his face. He had died to save her. If she had held on they both might have died. He had saved her, as she had saved him from the pirates.

She grasped his hand – already losing heat – and placed it over his chest. She would have done the same for the other, but the odd angle at which his arm was bent made her sick to look at it. No, it was better to not disturb him any longer.

She took a shaky breath, "I know you can't hear me, but thank you, thank you so much." She breathed, "I always knew you weren't completely cruel, whatever your father did to cause your hate, it was leaving you. And just when it was leaving, you died." She bent her head, "I'm so sorry, so, so, so sorry. The last thing I said to you before we landed was cold and heartless. I'm so sorry, I know you can never forgive me, but I forgive you. I forgive you for trying to capture Aang, I forgive you for being angry at me, I forgive you for locking me in that closet, I forgive you for hurting Luke, I forgive you for hurting me, and most of all I forgive you for—" she hesitated, "I forgive you for falling in love with me. Because the truth is, I think I was falling for you,"

She stood to go but something erupted above her head. She watched in horror as the canopy of the forest caught flame immediately. She watched in despair as the forest around her alit almost instantly.

Luke watched in horror and shock as the forest caught flame. He tried to run into it but Troy caught his arm, "We have to go!" he shouted at the struggling Luke, "She has to make it on her own, we have to save the crew!"

Luke struggled one last time before obliging, sending his prayers to the spirits to protect her.

The area surrounding the clearing caught fire, leaving only one available exit. As she moved toward it she stopped and looked at Zuko's body. She couldn't leave him like this, she couldn't leave him here to burn into ashes, not after what he had done to saver her.

She knelt by him and sat him up, gently embracing him. And just as a branch fell around her, she encased them in a protective shield of fire. And there she sat, holding her dead friend as she prayed to the spirits to forgive her.

**

* * *

**

Kyle – in his search for Katara – found Aang sitting atop a small bridge near the entrance to the city. Curious, Kyle approached the silent monk

Aang was staring out at the ocean, a hand rested on his knee. Kyle looked too and saw the sun setting below the horizon.

To his surprise, Aang spoke silently.

"It's awful, love," Aang blinked slowly to clear his head.

Kyle looked over at Aang and knew what he was thinking and felt all too guilty. He had been pursuing the Waterbender girl, when he should have left her to someone who deserved her: Aang.

Aang took a slow breath, "I can't have her though, I'm a monk, and monks can't love like that."

Kyle looked at the young boy thoughtfully, he sounded so much older than he appeared, "I'm sorry Aang."

Aang looked at him seriously, "I don't deserve it, I'll always have to save the world." He turned and slide off the bridge and walked slowly away.

Kyle watched the retreating back of the Airbender and felt so stupid. He had broken this boy's heart. And it was really his fault.

**

* * *

**

Josh was pacing the campsite feverishly, thinking. He needed to write Alex, he needed to so badly.

Frustrated, he pulled a piece of paper and an ink pen out of his bag and began to write quickly:

_Alex, _

_I need to talk to you, I need to hear your voice, I need to see for myself that you're all right. I need to see your face again. I miss you so much Alex, I need to meet you, you need to find us. If you don't, I don't know what else I can do. _

_Please respond, _

_Josh _

He sent it away with a bird and watched the small animal disappear beneath the treetops.

**

* * *

**

Tina whistled to herself as she roamed the forest. She was 78 positive she was going north, but it might be more like north-west.

Sighing, she sat down on a fallen tree, resting her head in her hands. This was not going well. And to think about all the times she had wished she was in this world was almost laughable. If she had known when she had whished that she would be roaming through a strange land in a desperate attempt to relocate her friends, she would have not only laughed it off but assumed it was crazy.

Not that this wasn't crazy.

She thought about Alex, where was she? What was she doing? Josh had told her Aunt Wu had said Alex was fine, but she still had an uneasy feeling something was wrong.

Still, the thought of the Prince being dead made her quite cheerful. Throughout the entire existence of the show she had resented the teen, although Alex had frequently stood up for him (why? She had no idea). Still, it was better to be here in the earth kingdom than trapped in the fire nation.

A bird flew overhead and she took this as a sign to head back to camp.

**

* * *

**


	20. Second Chance

Luke was leaning over the railing, watching the remainder of the fire burn out. Was it fate that only the center part of the forest – the part she had been in – had caught fire? No, it couldn't be just a coincidence. It was almost like they hated her, the spirits. They always had of course, from the death of her mother to the disappearance of her father.

Luke sighed and rubbed his temples. And the worst part was that he never got to tell her who he was, because she obviously didn't remember him.

He remembered how, when they were younger, they used to play just outside the palace wall, and how when she was twelve he had taught her to sword fight.

After that she had vanished and he had gone into a state of pure hate, but meeting her in the forest was pure fate, for what were the odds?

A sound alerted him to a carrier bird flying towards him. When it landed he took from its claws a letter, but his heart sank when he read the address.

_Alex_

It was for her, from her friends.

Shakily, he tore open the letter and read it. Dropping it slightly, he knew he had to tell her poor friend what had happened.

_Josh, _

_I regret to inform you of a tragic accident which occurred as of six hours ago. In an attempt to save the crew, Alex perished in a terrible fire that struck through the forest we were traveling through. But she did not die in vain. When all of our soldiers were taken by a band of rebels, she rescued us just as she saved us from the pirates (which I'm sure you are aware of). She was a great woman, I knew her well. You may not have heard of me, my name is Luke, I'm an old friend of Alex's, from when we were younger. _

_Troy is stricken by grief, but he is also terribly proud of his sister. You should be proud too. She would have wanted it to be this way. _

_I'm sending Watcher with you, he was her's and you should do with him as you wish, she would have wanted you to have him. _

_Best regards and my deepest sympathies. _

_Luke _

He sent it away, and he wondered briefly if Alex was with Zuko.

**

* * *

**

For six hours Alex sat there as the fire burned down, but when it was safe she removed the shield, exhausted beyond belief.

Sighing, she lay Zuko's body down and collapsed next to it. She would just rest for a moment, just a moment.

**

* * *

**

Alex awoke in a crisp fog. She would have shuddered but for some reason she did not feel cold.

She looked over at Zuko, and again she felt the stab of pain. She stood and surveyed the forest. It seemed eerie, almost like a dream.

She turned back to Zuko and screamed. Her body was there, lying peacefully next to him, and arm wrapped protectively around him.

She took deep breaths; she was in the spirit world that was all. But why?

The scene changed and she turned to face a strange looking man with long black hair and even blacker eyes.

She gasped and took a step backwards.

He smiled, "You did a very heroic thing, Alex."

She eyed him, she wasn't all that surprised that he knew her name, but what did he know about _her_?

He laughed, "You didn't have to save his body like that, you could have saved yourself. But instead you did, just as you saved him from the pirates, risking you own life when you and the crew could have taken the ship you were currently aboard. In both cases you proved your love for him could cut through the deepest traumas of your lives. I admire that,"

She eyed the strange man, "Who are you?"

He laughed and circled around her, "I am Shakra, you know who I am child, just _think_!"

Alex regarded him and thought carefully, "Shakra—Prince of the Underworld."

He chuckled and looked at her, "I prefer spirit of the Dead."

She narrowed her eyes, "Then why are you speaking to me?"

He turned sharply and faced her fully, "You have not only disrupted the order in the other world, but that of your own."

Her eyes widened, "What are you talking about, what's happening at home?"

He eyed her sharply, "You _are _home. Alex, you were really born here."

She backed away and he too walked, toward her, "You were born in the fire nation, to the house of Baja, the noblest house in the nation aside from the royal family. When you were only three your family was evicted by the fire lord on a false charge of treason and sent to live like commoners. When you turned thirteen, the day after Prince Zuko's Agnai Ki, you were sent to the _other_ earth for protection," he rolled his eyes, "But leave it to you to find your way back." He said dryly.

She stared at him, memories were flooding back to her in a wave of information she could not explain. She remembered everything now, everything.

Stumbling backwards he reached out and steadied her. "I know what you must be thinking so many things Alex, but your past is not why we are here." He absently moved a strand of hair out of her face, "I am here to offer you a bargain."

She narrowed her eyes and took a step back, "What sort of bargain?"

He shrugged, "I am prepared to offer you the chance to restore Prince Zuko's life."

She thought for a moment, "and what would I give you in return?"

He laughed, "Nothing at all. For it is not me you would gives something to, but Zuko. I am prepared to allow you to give him your life source. In doing so you will be killed, naturally, and will be allowed to freely roam the earth as a spirit."

She laughed, "You must be joking."

He didn't laugh along with her, his face showed no emotion, "I can't joke, it's an emotion I am incapable of."

She looked at him seriously, "I can really do that?"

"If you wish."

"I have a feeling you don't offer this choice to everyone."

He shrugged slightly, "Well, not everyone risks their life twice for the same person. I offer this to you with no strings attached."

"None at all?"

"Nothing."

She bit her lip and thought carefully for a moment. Sure, she would be dead, but did that really matter if it meant saving someone else? And who deserved to live more, her or the heir to the fire nation?

She didn't think people had thought about that. If Zuko died that meant that the next heir, his sister, would be just as evil as her father. If Zuko lived there was a better chance of him becoming fire lord, and thus a better chance of him turning a leaf and ending the war if it so came to the point where the Avatar had failed.

She nodded to the spirit, "I agree, Shakra."

He smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder. She noticed then how young he appeared, he couldn't' be portraying someone more than nineteen years old, "I am very proud of you Alex," he bent his head and kissed her forehead softly.


	21. Prince and Stranger

When Alex opened her eyes she found herself standing in the same clearing, Zuko's body lay still.

She looked at herself and noticed she appeared to be living, but she knew in her heart that she was not.

Taking a step over to his fallen body, she looked behind her and noted with a sick feeling that she did not leave footprints in the ash.

Kneeling beside him she gently touched his skin and was elated to feel the heat returning to his pale face.

He moaned and opened his eyes gently. He was looking at her, but he could not see her. He attempted to sit up but cried out in pain as his arm moved. She winced at his pain but knew she could do nothing.

She wanted so badly to reach out and help him, but if she tried, would she feel him?

He carefully sat up and held his broken arm to his body to support it. Alex absently touched his arm and was surprised when he shuddered. She had been able to feel him, and he had unknowingly felt her presence, even if it was only a spirit.

There were burn marks on his face and his clothing was charred and torn from the fire and his fall from the tree tops.

He rubbed his head with his good hand. He was wondering how it was he was alive, how he had survived. He had been dead, he was sure of it. But he had had the strangest dream. Alex had been here, with him. She had protected him from a fire. But there hadn't been a—

He stopped and stared at the burnt ash and destroyed skeletons of the surrounding area.

Ok, so there had been a fire. But he looked and saw no one. She hadn't been here.

He struggled to stand and was finally able to support himself against a tree trunk as he thought about what he was going to do now. He knew his arm would heal in about a weak, but what would he do now? At this point he was extremely vulnerable to any enemies, and it didn't help that he could barely stand.

Alex tried to move closer, but she could no longer see him.

She blinked and saw an earth kingdom boy her age sitting on a fallen tree. Curious, she approached the lad with great interest. He was sitting with his head bent between his knees, holding a crumpled letter in his hands. Tilting her head she read the name of the boy (which was written on the letter).

_Josh _

Her heart stopped. Josh? This was Josh?

She knelt in front of him so that she was face to face with him. She almost cried out as she saw his face. It was the boy from the festival, she had been with him the whole time and she had failed to notice it…

Taking a breath she said softly, "Josh…I'm so sorry…" she eyed the letter. He unfolded it again and she went around to read it. It was the letter from Luke.

She turned away; at the time of the letter Luke had falsely thought her dead. But now it was true, there were no more lies.

She looked at her friend, he was distraught beyond belief, and Alex's heart went out to him. She had missed him so, and in finally seeing him again she could neither say or do anything. It was painstakingly awful to watch him.

She reached to touch him but once again the scenery changed. She was now standing in a small village.

Startled, she turned and saw Shakra. Glaring she hissed, "Why can't I roam freely like you said?"

He smiled, "I think you need to see these things first." He tilted his head in the direction behind her.

She turned and surprisingly found Zuko slowly making his way through the town. He was clutching his bleeding and broken arm to his chest. And although this was a friendly town, the residents turned and gave him nasty looks, even though he kept his eyes to the ground.

Alex felt like tearing her heart out when she saw him like that. Every place he passed that could offer assistance turned him away without a word upon seeing he was fire nation.

Alex walked alongside him slowly. Shakra had vanished and had left her to her own devices.

He was now walking through the woods aimlessly, in an attempt to locate shelter. Alex could not bring herself to leave him like this. She wouldn't let him be alone, even if he never knew she was there.

Zuko looked up drearily as he heard "voices". Many times since entering these dense woods he had suspected himself of ludicrous thinking. Of course he was just imagining things once again.

He came to a small clearing, and because his eyes were facing downward he did not notice the actual person who was seated only ten feet away.

**

* * *

**

Josh looked up sharply as a twig snapped. Jumping to his feet he cried, "Who are you?" he watched the stranger closely. By the looks of his clothes he had been traveling a long time and was definitely fire nation.

Zuko – startled – looked up and thus stumbled upon a root. He braced himself against a tree with his good arm and looked at the boy. He was his age for sure, but something about him was familiar.

Josh, upon seeing the state of the man's arm, hesitantly approached him. The man looked at him carefully, but showed no fear.

Josh eyed the man's arm, "It looks broken."

Zuko grimaced, "believe me, it is."

Josh looked up at him. Something about the stranger struck him as odd, but he dismissed the notion.

Josh motioned for the traveler to follow him. Pulling out a small box he took from it bandage to make a sling.

Zuko sat on one of the overturned trees and eyed the boy. He had not mentioned his name, Zuko, but for some reason the boy was placing all his trust in him.

Josh turned and asked if he could bandage it. Zuko, under normal circumstances, would have charred someone who got that close to him

_(Except Alex…) _

but he was in too much pain to argue. He nodded his agreement.

Once bandaged he looked at the boy, who was stoking the small fire, "Thank you." He said.

Josh looked up, "No problem, I'd hate to be you right now, so I can help out."

Zuko gave a tiny, grim laugh, "I'd rather be you, yeah. I've been through a lot."

Josh frowned and poked a burning log, "Trust me, you do _not_ want to be going through what I am right now," upon the man's disbelieving look he said quietly, "My friend was killed a few days ago."

Alex, marveling at the irony and fate of it all, sat next to Zuko on the log.

Zuko spoke, "I know how you feel, I thought I lost someone I knew before. Of course, she never died."

Alex wanted to scream and shout at them, to tell them that she was right here next to him. But she knew it would be in vain to do such a matter. She looked wistfully at Josh and wished he could hear her. She wanted to end this, but now that she was dead it was a different issue.

Josh seemed to have lost his train of thought as he looked up suddenly—right where she was sitting.

She stared back at him, but he couldn't see her, right? Maybe it was a longing for some sort of attention that made her silently hope that he could see her in any way, or even sense her in the slightest.

He looked at Zuko, remembering that he had spoken, "I'm sorry,"

Zuko shrugged, "It's obviously not as bad as yours, what was she like?"

Josh seemed taken aback, "how did you know it was a girl?"

Zuko looked at him seriously, "I had a feeling,"

Josh gave a small laugh, a sad laugh, "She was amazing, not from around here though." He seemed to be smiling at the memory of his friend, "I haven't even seen her since we landed in this world," he murmured.

Zuko raised his brows, not saying anything although it was obvious he had heard Josh.

Josh smiled at Zuko and extended a hand, "I'm sorry, where are my manners, my name is Josh."

Zuko shook with his good hand, "Zuko,"

Josh looked away, "Yeah I know." He thought for a moment, torn between what he should do, what he knew was the right thing.

He looked at Zuko with the saddest eyes the prince had ever seen. "She's dead," he whispered.

Zuko was taken aback, "What are you talking about?"

Josh stoked the fire, not looking his visitor in the eyes, "Alex is dead. She died saving you," he said with a hint of resentment in his voice.

Spirit Alex looked at Zuko's face, he knew the boy could not be lying, for there was no way he could make that up, since he had not been in the forest.

He seemed to realize something and spoke, almost remorsefully, "You're Josh, I see now." He looked at the fire, "you knew her, so much better than I."

"I grew up with her," Josh stated, "I've known her my whole life,"

There was a rustling in the trees and Josh, panicked, looked behind Zuko to see Tina emerging from the brush.

She started upon seeing a stranger in their midst, but when he turned to look at her she was filled with rage. Almost leaping at the prince, she shouted at him to get out, and as Josh (who had leapt up to prevent the slaughter of Alex's friend) struggled with her, she yelled at him to let her go. When she had calmed down enough, he let go of her arms and she stared viciously at the teen.

Zuko, alarmed by her anger, stood up in his defense, trying to defend himself the best he could with his unharmed limbs.

Tina looked at Josh, "You're _sitting_ with him? Don't you realize he's our enemy?"

Josh looked at her and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking her in the eyes seriously, "It's alright Tina, he knows—knew Alex."

She pulled away from him, staring at him with such a horrifying look, "what are you talking about, how could he—" she froze, "what do you mean _knew_ her?"

Josh looked over at Zuko for a moment, "She's dead," he said quietly.

Tina swallowed several times, trying to make sense of everything. The world seemed to be spinning around her in a whirl of colors and sounds.

But it was all over soon, when the world went black.

She awoke to see Josh standing over her, a worried look upon his face. As he helped her to sit upright, she saw that Zuko was regarding her carefully. She rubbed her head and thought for a moment. This was real, this was all too real.

Alex was perched on a branch just four feet above the small group. Sighing, she leapt to the ground and paced about, eyeing the odd gathering.

Tina looked at Zuko and saw no fear in his eyes. And as she looked more carefully, she saw such grief, such a scar that it even rivaled the one upon his face. She looked at him, and although she knew she would not like it, she knew what she had to do.

"I guess you can stay—for now," she added dryly, showing her displeasure.

Zuko only blinked slowly and looked up at her. Every emotion had already been washed out of him. It was almost like he didn't care anymore; it was almost like his life had ended so many hours ago.

He remembered his last few moments with Alex, and he was thankful for that. As much as they had bickered, it was a miracle his last words to her weren't harsh or demeaning.

Still, there were so many things he wished he could have done just one last time. He wanted to hold her once more, to feel the comforting warmth of her skin against his, he wanted to feel the soft touch of her lips, and—he wanted to tell her he loved her.

He blinked. Had he really admitted it? Even in his own thoughts he had always shied away from the notion. But now it was apparent that he did in fact—love her. But she would never know, never.

* * *

Kyle was walking along one of the many waterways, unaware that Katara was watching him curiously.

He was angry, at everything. Angry at Aang, angry at this messed up world, angry at himself, angry with the world. Nothing seemed to be the same, and it was now more than ever that he wanted to see his friends.

He knew they were coming, it couldn't be much longer. But for some reason he had the strangest feeling that something was wrong; terribly, unfixably wrong.

Angry, he threw his arm out around him, eyes closed in hatred.

Katara gave a small gasp. When his arm had moved, the water had violently moved with it, making a large wave. But he did not notice, for he opened his eyes too late.

She cautiously made her way over to him, and prepared herself to tell him the strangest, most unbelievable thing of his life.


	22. Violent Sorrows

OMG, I love all my readers SOOO much, thank you ALL! I'm SOOO sorry for the weird formatting at the end of the last chapter, I hope it didn't cause anyone any difficulty in reading. ONWARD!

oh yeah, I had the PERFECT song for one of the recent chapters, but it also kinda fits in with the whole mood that's going on:

_"How to Save a Life"_

The Fray

* * *

Luke paced the deck angrily. Something was going on, something wasn't right. Beside the fact that Alex was—dead, something felt terribly out of place.

Oh yes, that would be their missing prince.

Iroh had long ago shut himself in his room in an awful state of mourning. He refused to come out or even allow servants to bring him meals. The crew had lost all hope, and now it was up to Luke to stay in charge.

_We're going to die, it's inevitable now. I'm only prolonging what will eventually kill us all. Iroh will starve; the men might drown or allow themselves to be killed. But what about me? Will I kill myself out of wanting to be with Alex once more? _

He shook these thoughts away and retired below deck.

But instead of going to his room, Luke took the long forgotten detour that led farther down into the ship. Passing Zuko's room without a glance, he opened the door to the room next to it.

Upon entering Alex's old room, a wave of emotion washed over him like he could not explain. Throwing himself onto the bed, he hugged her pillow to himself. And as tears streamed down his face, and as his body shook violently from the silent sobs, he took in deep breaths, smelling the lavender scent upon the pillow and the sheets. He knew this was all that was left of Alex, and this was all he would ever have.

* * *

Josh waited until Tina and Zuko had fallen asleep before sneaking out of the tent and venturing deep into the woods. 

Alex, who had still not left, followed curiously. Where could he be going at a time like this?

Josh stopped in a small clearing where several boulders lay. She noticed in slight terror that his fists were balled up tightly, and he was breathing heavily. He was angry, but she would never have guessed how angry he was until he relinquished all his energy on those boulders.

She watched in stunned silence as he picked up each boulder and threw it across the clearing – moving only in a small area. He was earthbending, and he had never told a soul.

What would Tina have said? She had not shown the faintest trace of a bending ability, so why would he tell her that it was him and not her that had seemingly acquired it?

He was violent and enraged. Tears were running down his face as he sobbed uncontrollably before he finally collapsed on the ground.

Overcome with sorrow, Alex turned and ran back through the forest, blinded by tears. What had this come to, when her best friends were wrought with a grief thrown onto to them by her actions alone? What had they done to deserve it?

_If they hadn't sent me to their world, this wouldn't have happened._ She thought angrily to herself.

But would it have? After all, hadn't the war been going on before they had sent her away? And really, were they making much of an indent in the progression of the war, so why would it really matter?

She sighed and leaned against a nearby tree. Normally she would have been catching her breath, but under the circumstances it wasn't necessary. After all, if she didn't need to breathe, why would she run out of breath?

She sighed, this was all terribly confusing, in so many ways. After all, it wasn't her fault she was stuck her, right?

Actually, she didn't know.

Was it her fault…or Zuko's? Or maybe it was Shakra's…maybe it was just a phase in life that would never fully be understood by living beings.

Maybe she would understand now that that wasn't a problem.

She smiled a bit; after all, she was a spirit. Right?

She frowned. Did this really qualify?

She shook her head to clear her mind. She couldn't deal with these confusing thought's right now…she needed some sleep.


	23. Hope and Ko

_Kyle! Kyle where are you? Kyle please don't do this, come back! We're dying Kyle, save us! KYLE! _

Kyle woke with a start, cold sweat covering his body. Sitting up slowly, he rubbed his head with a hand. This wasn't the first time he had heard these voices.

He sighed and slowly climbed out of bed, first glancing out the window at the soon to be risen sun. It was early, and it was quiet.

Too quiet. Kyle shuddered briefly before pulling on a coat and stepping outside. The world seemed unnaturally calm today, as if it were mourning a great loss.

Kyle turned a corner, hands shoved deep in his pocket to ward off the impending cold. He was accustomed to the ever changing moods of this place. One day it could be nice and warm, and the next they would be shoved into a severe cold front. Kyle suspected that there was more to this bizarre weather than anyone was letting on though.

He froze in his tracks as he neared the edge of the city, where the balcony looked out to the sea.

Sokka was standing there, staring out into the ocean, a sad look on his face.

Kyle approached him quietly, watching carefully as not to disturb the warrior in his silent mourning.

"Hey, Sokka." He said carefully.

Sokka turned and glanced at Kyle, a look of brief surprise on his face. He said nothing as the boy leaned on the railing next to Sokka, he too staring out into the ocean.

Sokka didn't look at Kyle, but the icy chill in his voice told Kyle he was unwelcome. "What do you want?"

Kyle sighed, "You were right, about me."

Sokka was taken aback and turned to look at the older boy curiously, "what do you mean?"

Kyle frowned as he thought to himself, "I'm—not from around here,"

Sokka said nothing, voicing the obvious agreement.

Kyle took a breath, "Look, I need to get back to my friends, badly. I need to figure out how to get out of here."

Sokka bit his lip. He knew he should help the stranger, but he didn't want to trust him, he was too—different. He sighed, "I'll talk to Aang. I'm not making any promises though," he turned to walk away.

Kyle spoke after him quickly, "By the way Sokka, you're an excellent warrior."

Sokka smiled to himself and turned to look at Kyle seriously, "Thanks," he frowned, "but stay away from my sister,"

Kyle sighed as Sokka disappeared.

**_

* * *

_**

Alex awoke to find herself not in the forest as she had been previously, but on a bed, a real bed.

Suspicious, she stood to see that it was her room on the ship.

But did that mean…?

Screaming with joy, she raced into the hall and ran down to the stairs that led to the deck, shouting Luke's name.

When she opened the door to the deck she saw Luke standing by the railing, when she ran to him, she cried out in happiness as she saw his face.

"Luke, oh Luke. I just had the most horrid—" she stopped.

Luke was crying.

Startled, she said his name again. But as she reached for his hand she was sickened to see that it went right through.

It hadn't been a dream.

This was real.

She bit her lip to keep herself from crying, although she knew no one would see her.

Why was she here? Why could she not live in peace?

She closed her eyes tightly, wanting this to be over, wanting every hardship she was suffering to vanish before her eyes.

She heard a noise and opened her eyes quickly. To her surprise, she wasn't on the ship anymore. In fact, she was in –

She gave a gasp as a faceless monkey ran by her.

"Ko," she whispered.

Tina awoke to the sounds of—nothing.

She sat up quickly, looking around the inside of her tent. That was not a good sign. The forest was too vast to hold such silence for so long.

She stepped outside her tent, quickly glancing at the one Zuko and Josh shared. They weren't up, the fire had long died.

She narrowed her eyes, surveying the forest. Something wasn't right, she had the queerest feeling that something was terribly wrong.

Taking one last glance at the other tent, she pulled on her boots, grabbed her bag, and head west, toward the town.

Her instincts were telling her to go there.

And so far, they had yet to be wrong.

Luke turned around quickly, sensing something other than his person aboard the ship.

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the spot where Alex had been standing in her spirit form (although he did not know this).

He sighed and shook his head.

Walking down the plank, he decided to take a stroll trough the port they had landed at. Finally in the earth kingdom, he was trying to discretely discover any information about his father that was possible to obtain.

He had donned simple clothing, light gray tunic with a red sash, and black pants with his usual boots.

He had recently gotten a haircut, and was relieved that he no longer had to push his hair out of his face.

He stopped at a merchant and absently looked through articles as the shopkeeper gossiped with a customer.

"Did you hear?" she asked her customer eagerly.

"What?"

"The Fire Nation Prince was spotted not five miles from here, walking through town!"

The buyer gasped, "Really? But why?"

She shrugged, "I don't know, but most say he was cradling his arm, and it appeared bloody and swollen."

Luke turned and walked away casually, making it appear that he had no interest in the gossip.

But once he was out of sight of the shop, he broke into a run and headed for the nearest stable.

Because maybe, just maybe, if Zuko was alive—

So was Alex.


	24. Who are you?

Alex walked slowly through the swamp, making sure to step carefully, not wanting to discover what was at the bottom of that water.

She spotted the tree, the tree she did not know was there. She shuddered as the evil vibes filled her pores.

She took on step after another, bringing herself closer to the cave entrance.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She turned quickly, but saw no one.

"Up here."

She looked up to the top of the tree and screamed when she saw a body etched in the tree's base.

The body – which seemed to be male – did not look at her, only outward.

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you, it's a wretched face…filled with curse."

"Who are you?" she demanded of the stranger.

Then, he looked upon her.

And she turned away in horror, shaking.

It was the face of her friend, one she had known when she was little, one who had died of a young age.

She did not look up at the face, she only proceeded forward, deeper into the cave itself.

Once deep inside, she had the oddest feeling of being watched. She knew it was Ko, but she forced herself to keep her expression blank.

"Hello child."

She turned and came face to face with Ko. She did not blink, but only stared at the spirit.

The face changed to one she did not recognize, "Why are you here?"

She took a calm breath and bowed her head respectfully, "I do not know, I was hoping you could tell me."

The face changed again, and as Alex looked up, she saw a fire nation face. She stared, it was a young man, with a sad expression on his face.

She had to use every will in her body not to scream in horror.

"Miuko," she whispered with no feeling in her voice.

The face changed back to the one Ko usually wore, the one that resembled a joker's mask.

"You are here because you have distorted the balance."

"the balance," she said blankly.

He circled around her, "The balance between life and death. You have broken the delicate chain by returning to this world."

"I did not wish it."

"But yet, you are here." He stopped and faced her once more, "You were taken from this world for a reason, and now you have returned. You have disrupted the life that has been planned out for the people, by bringing with you the people of your earth."

His voice seemed to become slightly angrier, "But having you in the spirit world has caused more trouble than you are worth. Shakra has been toying with the balance, and I want you out."

She blinked, still showing no emotion, "Out?"

He turned to her, "I will make you a deal, lady Alexa. If you agree to remove these strangers from our world, then I will grant you back your life."

Alexa looked carefully at Ko, "Is it that simple?"

"Simple? No, for you would be forced to stay here, and never see them again."

"And if I were to refuse, if I were to let them remain here?"

Ko's face changed, to that of a beautiful fire nation woman. Alex felt her mind go blank for a moment, for it was not the same woman Aang had laid his eyes upon.

She wanted to break into tears, to scream in rage at the spirit. How could he have done such a thing?

The face was her mother's.

Now she knew, now she knew what had happened.

Although her body shook violently with the pain, she let her expression remain stone.

"If you refuse my offer, then I will kill your friends."

She felt her knees go weak, but remained upright. He could not break her, he could not knock her down.

"I accept," she said dryly.

Tina returned to the camp a few hours later, her search completed. She noted with amusement that the boys still had yet to wake.

Overall, her search had been useless. The only interesting thing in town was the docking of a fire nation ship, but other than that it was insufficient.

She sighed and set her pack down, sitting to stoke the fire.

Luke raced through the forest quickly, following the trail of footprints on his mount. The horse was tired, but he urged it onward. He had to find out if she was alive.

But out of nowhere, he heard voices…

Slowing his horse to a halt and dismounting, he let the creature run back to the village as it was trained to do. He carefully walked toward the voices, not sure what he would find.

But as he neared the source of the voices, he stumbled upon a tree root, sending him sprawling forward through the trees.

He caught hold of a stray branch as he fell, attempting to steady himself.

"Who are you?" a voice demanded.

Luke looked up, startled.

He saw three people, staring at him. Two were unfamiliar, but one….

He stood upright, staring at the third person.

The man stared back.

"Zuko!" Luke cried, staring in shock.

Zuko blinked, not sure this could be happening. How had Luke found him? Not that that was a bad thing of course…

Josh and Tina stared at the boy. Tina seemed angered; she could see that he was fire nation.

Zuko stood up and took a step toward Luke, "How did you—"

Tina stood and glared at the boy, "You have no business here! Leave, you are not welcome!"

Luke looked at the girl, forgetting she was there. But his eyes fell to the other boy. He smiled, "Josh." He said softly.

Josh blinked at the stranger, how could he possibly know him? He knew no one in this world.

Luke too was trying to figure this out. He didn't know why, but he had the funniest feeling that this boy was Josh.

Tina looked at Josh, "Josh, what is going on?" she demanded angrily.

Josh looked away, avoiding her eye.

Tina glared at the boy, "Who. Are. You."


	25. Finally Together

Alex opened her eyes to find herself in a clearing. Sitting up slowly, she looked around her.

The air was calm and peaceful, the feeling of life filled the air with beauty.

She stood, slowly as not to hurt herself, she wasn't sure as to what extent she could freely move.

Upon finding nothing wrong with her aside from a small burn on her left shoulder, she took a few steps forward. After only a few moments she regained her strength and was able to continue forward.

It seemed all too quite in the woods, as if they were in silent repose of some recent event. She had no idea how much later it was than when she had died, but she had a feeling it was much later than she thought.

She half expected to continue forward without seeing a soul, but her theory was proven drastically wrong when she heard the shouts of people.

Quickening her pace, she pondered on the irony of what was happening. What were the odds that she would have awoken so close to civilization?

"Convenient, no?"

Alex gave a small gasp and turned round to see Shakra smiling at her. She narrowed her eyes, "Oh, now you're here. But where were you when I faced Ko?"

Shakra smiled, "Don't be like that Alex," he walked forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm always here for you, you just have to know what to say."

He motioned for her to continue walking, and she told him of her encounter with the spirit.

"It seems like you have a bit of a dilemma on your hands," he said softly.

She glared up at him, "No really?" she turned away and frowned, "I don't have any choice, I have to find someway to get them home. But how?"

She turned to the spirit, but he was gone. She groaned in frustration and kicked at a stone.

She stopped as she heard the voices again. If she made no noise she could distinctly make out the voices and what they were shouting about.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me you were writing to Alex?"

"I—I—"

"_What?_ You didn't even bother to tell me she was with the fire nation? And now you're saying you've never met this boy before?"

"I haven't, listen Tina—"

"Then how does he know your name? Tell me the truth, I'm sick of being lied to!"

Alex blinked, not believing what was happening. In a frenzied panic, she broke through the trees.

All four people in the clearing stopped. The three that were facing her didn't move as they looked at her with wide eyes.

She stared at the back of a fire nation boy. She looked around him to see Josh, another girl who must be Tina…and Zuko.

"Zuko!" she cried out.

He blinked at her and stood up quickly, "Alex…how can…what are you…."

The boy in front of her turned around quickly, and she gasped upon seeing that it was Luke.

For a moment they both stared at each other before she gave a cry and threw her arms around his neck.

Luke felt like crying as he held her tightly, it was a miracle, and it could be nothing more.

"It's alright Alex, I'm here now."

Tina blinked, unbelieving. There was no way this fire nation girl was Alex, it must be a different Alex.

She looked at the stricken face of Josh. Yeah, another Alex who knew Josh and Zuko.

Sure thing, just a coincidence.

Alex looked over at Tina and smiled sadly, tears brimming in her eyes. "Hey Tina."

Tina backed away quickly, nearly tripping over a log as she did so. Her face was full of fear and disbelief.

Alex frowned and took a step toward her old friend, Luke moved away to let her pass.

"No, stay away!" Tina cried.

Alex stopped, dismayed, "Tina, it's me. " She outstretched a hand.

Tina gave a cry and ran backwards until her back hit against a tree. She fell to the forest floor and buried her head in her arms, sobbing.

Alex froze, not knowing what she should do. She looked at Josh, for the first time in so many weeks, but instead of rejoicing and embracing her friend as she had wanted to, she could only silently plead for help.

But she knew what she had to do.

She knelt on the forest floor in front of her head. She gently took Tina's head in her hands and made her look at her. Her friend was sobbing wildly until Alex asked her softly to stop.

She smiled at her, "It's alright, I'm here now. Everything is going to be ok."

"But—but you're fire nation!" Tina choked.

Alex took a deep breath, and in a shaky voice replied, "I am. But I'm still the same, I'm still the same."

Tina smiled sadly and Alex hugged her friend. For the longest time they embraced each other, crying softly.

And Tina knew that everything was going to be alright.


	26. Departure

__

After long explanations and tearful reunions, the five of them now sat around the campfire, watching the flames dance before their eyes. Alex sat next to Luke, staring into the flames with lifeless eyes. Could this be the end? Would all the troubles simply vanish?

But how could she tell her friends that she was to get ride of them, that she was to remain here while they were swept away to their own lands? In her own mind it seemed barbaric, but she knew she had no choice. But not know, not when they had just found each other.

A thought drifted over her mind and she said sadly, "Kyle isn't with you, is he?"

Josh looked over at her from his seat between Zuko and Tina, "No, he's safe. He's with Aang at the north pole."

Alex cringed internally as she saw Zuko's face change dramatically. For a moment he returned to his previous self, selfish and determined to capture the avatar. But when he looked at her, he ceased, and returned to his newly found self.

Alex looked over at Luke and smiled wickedly, "Oh Luke, I simply _adore_ your new hair cut, where on earth did you get it done darling?" she laughed and rubbed his stubby hair. He laughed also and grabbed her hand, slyly putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Alex, I'm so glad I found you, the crew has been mad in depression from losing—" he stopped and the both turned to each other in horror.

"The crew!" they both cried.

Zuko stood quickly, "Uncle!"

For a moment the three of them stared at each other in horror. Luke grabbed Alex's wrist, "We have to get back and let everyone know you're alive!"

But she pulled away from him, "I—I can't leave them, I just found them." She said softly.

Luke smiled, yet it was plain to see he was in a hurry, "They can come with, _hurry._"

She turned to them, "Josh—Tina, what do you say? Will you come with us?"

Josh smiled but Tina didn't, "And just where are we going?"

"To the northern most edge of the earth kingdom," Luke said impatiently.

Alex smiled and took Tina's arm and Josh's hand, "You're going to love it, come on."

* * *

An hour later, all of them stood just outside the ship, looking up at it with different feelings. Zuko, Luke, and Alex all have expressions of relief and happiness, while Josh looked amazed, and Tina angered.

Luke knocked on the plank, and it lowered slowly. Luke walked quickly up the platform,

Alex started forward, but noticed Zuko had stopped. She eyed him curiously, he still had his hood up, and had not removed it since she had last seen him on the ship. She had a sick feeling that there was something he was hiding, but she would inquire about it at a later hour.

She smiled and took his hand gently, "It's alright, you're home now."

He pulled away, steel faced, "No. This isn't my home. It's a prison." Without looking at her he walked slowly up the plank.

Alex blinked, unable to comprehend what had just happened. She felt the utmost pain for him, feeling what his heart must be longing to feel each day.

She turned to her idle friends, "Come on, lets go meet Iroh."

Iroh turned round upon hearing Luke arrive. He turned to him, angry, "Where did you run off to? I was about to send a search party after you!"

"General Iroh I—"

"Silence! You had no right to do such a thing."

"Hello Iroh," Alex said softly, standing next to Zuko.

Iroh briefly glanced at her, but froze and did a double take. For a moment he only stood there, in utter shock that both Zuko and Alex were standing there.

In a split second, the ship erupted into chaos. Uncle – teary-eyed with joy – raced to embrace the two teens. Within moments the entire crew had heard the news, and was out on the deck, clamoring to get to Alex.

She merely laughed and greeted them all, but kindly requested time alone with Iroh and Zuko. Disappointed, they returned to their posts.

She shook her head in wonder and turned to see Iroh staring curiously at Tina and Josh.

"Anchor away!" the helmsman called.

Alex did not turn as she said loudly, "All set and ready for departure."

The ship made a quick jerk before it smoothly headed out from port.

Alex walked over to the two newcomers, hands behind her back. "Iroh," she said kindly, "I would like to introduce you to two of my friends, Tina and Josh. They are two of my three lost friends."

Uncle blinked, "But—they are not fire nation." He turned to her and smiled, "I understand. And of course they shall be welcome."

He bowed his head, "I leave the details up to you, captain."

Alex bowed her head in response.

Josh smiled slyly, "captain eh? Well, I see someone has had a life of luxury out here."

Alex smiled to herself, remembering her encounters with the pirates, "not exactly, those pirates were fierce alright."

Tina snapped out of her state of remorse, "Pirates?" she asked with a wide grin, "Tell me all!"

Alex laughed and linked arms with Tina, "Come on, I'll let you in on all the details as we head to your new room."

Josh looked over at Zuko, who was standing on the rail, looking over at the sea. He felt a strange feeling of being very vulnerable, but he couldn't place the feeling.

He took a step, but stopped, not sure what he was going to say to the prince. Instead, he turned and retreated below deck in an attempt to locate Alex and Tina.


	27. All Downhill

Josh had just went below deck and was scouring the hallways when he bumped into an unfriendly looking young man.

He stared down at him, alarmed to find a non fire-nation soul aboard. He created a small fireball in his hand, holding it carefully at bay as it grew steadily larger, "Move and I'll burn you to a crisp." He said dryly.

Josh looked at him with a curious eye before the fiery temper and raven black hair hit him as a resemblance.

"Troy," he said softly, "You're her brother."

Troy faltered for a moment before enlarging the flame, "Who are you and how do you know who I am?" he demanded angrily.

"I'm a friend of Alex and I—"

The flame came dangerously close to his face as Troy hissed, "Alex. Is. Dead."

"And as I was swimming back, this fish tried to eat my foot and—Troy!"

Troy froze, unable to believe it. But when he turned around he saw the enlightened face of his sister, standing there alive as ever.

Every rational thought fled his mind as he threw himself at her, near tears with joy.

Alex laughed as he hugged her, muttering nonsense words. She looked at him, "Where you trying to burn my friend?" she asked jokingly.

"Yes," Josh said from behind.

Troy glared at him, "I don't like him."

"Of course you don't, you hate all my male friends," Alex rolled her eyes, "And this is Tina."

Tina was gaping at the man Alex had called her brother. She was in awe, for she had yet to see a more handsome Firebender.

Alex bit her lip to keep from giggling. She knew that look on Tina's face anywhere. Poor Troy was staring dumbfounded at her, not sure what was happening.

She touched her brother's shoulder, "This is my brother, Troy."

"Troy, could you please show them to their rooms?" she asked kindly.

Troy sighed and motioned for the two teens to follow.

Once they were out of sight, Alex climbed the ladder to the upper deck. She was startled but happy to see Zuko still standing by the railing. But as she approached him she froze.

Shakra was standing beside him.

She assumed Zuko could not see him, but she sure could. But it was not his presence that disturbed her, but what he held in his hand.

It was Zuko's hair.

She stared, unable to breath. He was twirling it around. "This is a symbol of our agreement Alex; I now hold a piece of who you gave your life to. You two are bound internally forever."

When she blinked, he was gone.

She walked slowly to Zuko, now knowing why he had left his hood up. When she had come to standing next to him, she pulled it down.

She kept herself from flinching at his head, now grown over with stubble similar to that of an army haircut. She gulped, "I'm sorry."

He didn't look at her, "It burned off in the fire. It'll grow back."

She touched his arm gently, but he pulled away from her. She was both surprised and hurt. "What has gotten into you?"

He turned to her angrily and grabbed her upper arms, "I don't want you to do this! I'm not a good person Alex, I don't want to hurt you! You're distracting me from my goal, from my vision! I can't have that!" he shoved her away from him, causing her to fall to the ground.

He looked at her on the ground, breathing hard and tears welling in her eyes. But for the first time, he felt no remorse at doing such a thing.

He turned—and walked away.

From the balcony Luke had turned round to look below, and to his horror had seen the events unfold below him, and he had wasted not a second jumping down the steps to her aide.

She could feel no pain, lying on the ground in such a manner. She knew she was badly injured, but it was not on her mind. Over and over what had just happened replayed in her mind, and she was unable to compute it. It simply could not be, that he would harm her in such a way.

She felt tears welling in her eyes, but tried with all her might not to let them fall. But it was out of her control, and soon she was silently crying, shaking softly with the fears.

She felt a comforting hand on her arm and winced at the immediate pain that resulted. She opened her eyes to see Luke looking at her with frightened eyes.

"Alex, I saw—everything. Are you alright?"

She couldn't speak, her mouth was dry. Luke said nothing more, and helped her sit up. He looked in anger upon her arms, where fresh burns were visible. He felt phenomenal rage at Zuko for taking his anger out on her, and he had a sick feeling one side of her arm was never going to heal properly.

He held her to him, trying to support her enough to help her stand. When he had gotten her up, he let her fall back until he could catch her in his arms.

Taking careful steps, he proceed below deck to find something to bandage her wounds.

Along the way, he spotted Josh exiting a room. Luke cursed in his mind, this wasn't what he needed right now.

But as much as Luke tried to stay silent, Josh turned and saw him. His eyes became wide and his mouth hung open in horror.

"Alex!" he cried as he ran to her.

Luke shushed him and motioned for Josh to open a door nearby.

Luke walked across the room and laid Alex upon the bed. He gently touched her cheek, trying to rouse her from her seamless sleep. He tried to draw his eyes away from the burns on her arms.

"Get me some cloth and hot water from the kitchens, hurry." He said hoarsely.

"What's going on?" Josh demanded.

"I SAID NOW!" Luke yelled at him. Josh closed his mouth and retreated.

Luke bent over her and kissed her forehead softly, "Please," he whispered, "Please come back."

She opened her eyes slowly, "Luke?"

He smiled sadly, "It's alright."

"Please—please tell me it didn't happen." She said softly.

Luke choked back a cry, "It did, I'm so sorry."

"No, he wouldn't do that—he isn't like that…" she trailed off, making a choking sound.

Josh reentered the room with the bandages and hot water. He stared in horror as Luke sat her up and began to dampen her burns.

"What happened?" he demanded.

Luke was steely faced, "Zuko happened."

Josh blinked, "Zuko? The same Zuko she was always speaking so highly of? But—he seemed alright when he was with me."

"Looks can be deceiving." Luke replied bitterly. He dipped a rag into the hot water and gently applied it to her burns. She winced at the pain, but tried not to show any of it. She was not focused on that pain, but the pain inside.

Luke bandaged each of her arms gently, taking care not to put too much pressure on them. When he had finished he regarded her with angry eyes for a moment before silently saying, "I'm going to kill him."

He stood and went to exit the room, but Alex cried out for him to stop. He turned to her, enraged, "You expect me to let that pass? He _attacked_ you for no reason!"

She gulped, "Please, do it for me. Don't say anything. People will figure it out in their heads, but if you tell them, they'll be talking to each other. At least this way it stays in their individual heads." She sat up slowly and looked at him, "Please."

He sighed, "I hope you know what you're doing." He turned to Josh, "Not a word, you hear?" Josh nodded and watched as Luke left the room.

When he was gone Josh went to Alex and sat beside her. And for the first time in six weeks, he held her in his arms.


	28. I just want answers

Later, Alex and Josh went to the top deck to greet Master Jang.

Upon seeing him, Alex bowed respectfully, "Master, it is good to see you." She was aware that Zuko was standing not to far oft, but she made careful notice not to say anything or even glance his way.

She knew that her bandages were clearly visible below her tee shirt, but she didn't care. She could also tell by the look on her master's face that he knew what had happened.

Jang bowed back, "Ah, it is good to see you among the living once more Alexa. I have heard much about your journey."

For some reason this did not surprise her, "Master, I now know my purpose here and what I must do. I thank you for teaching me."

He nodded, "Yes, for now I shall teach you no more." He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eye, "Now, you are _Master_ Alexa."

Alexa blinked, unable to move. What? She couldn't be master could she?

She tried not to look at Zuko, who was staring at her in both anger and confusion. She realized that everyone around her must be wondering what her and Jang had been discussing.

She smiled at her old master, "Thank you."

* * *

Later that evening, as Alex pulled her hair up before dinner, she heard a knock at her door. 

"It's open," she said, not taking her eyes of her mirror.

Tina walked in and closed the door behind her. Her eyes were narrowed, and she crossed her arms as she watched Alex.

"Oh, hey Tina." Alex smiled. But she frowned when Tina did not smile back. She finished her hair and turned to look at her curiously, "What's up?"

"I don't know, you tell me." She responded coldly.

Alex stared at her, "What are you talking about?"

Tina walked to her and gently touched her bandages. She turned her head up and looked at her friend, "You can't tell me these are part of the uniform."

Alex turned away, eyes closed, "Tina, you have to understand—"

"NO!" she shouted, "I'm _sick_ of having to 'understand'. For once I just want _answers_."

Alex turned slowly to look at her. Her face was saddened, "You can't stay here for much longer."

"What on earth are you talking about?" She snapped angrily, "There is no way I'm leaving you now, not with _him_."

Alex blinked back tears and attempted to keep her voice as even as possible, "Tina, let me explain. What I'm about to tell you is crazy, I know. But you have to listen to me. I need you to believe me."

Tina's eyes grew soft, and she took a seat in a nearby chair. Alex went to her window and leaned against it, watching the ocean waves crash against the sides.

"I'm—I'm a nobleman's daughter, born of the fire nation house of Corinth. I was born here Tina, and this is where I'll stay."

With great composer, Alex told Tina the entire story of her existence, and everything that had happened to her in this world, including her encounter with Ko.

"He killed my mother Tina, and Iroh's son." She turned to her with a stone face, "And if you don't leave he'll kill you, Josh, and Kyle too."

Tina stood and looked at her, "I'm not leaving you,"

"Tina—"

"No." she replied firmly, "You're my best friend Alex, I'm not leaving you to fend for yourself here. Not on Zuko's ship."

Alex sighed, "Tina, there is nothing wrong with Zuko—"

"_Nothing wrong?_ He _burned_ you Alex!" she grabbed her by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes. It was only when she saw the look of pain on her face that she let go in horror.

"Alex—I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"

Alex held up a hand to silence her, "It's alright."

"You have to tell Josh."

Alex froze and took a shaky breath, "I know. But not just yet. We need to find Kyle first."

Tina took her friend's hand, "I think we have to get going."

"You're right." Alex tried to smile, but the thought of having to see Zuko again made her cringe.

"Alex?" Tina asked as they walked the hall.

"Hmm?"

"You're shaking."

Alex looked at her hands and noticed that they were indeed shaking from the stressfulness of the situation.

She laughed, "That's ironic. Of course I'm not nervous at all about dieing, but going to diner is completely different."

* * *

_A girl, falling to the ground. Crying, bruised, burned. A man is standing over her, holding a blade in hand, rain is falling softly. _

_With a quick motion he lowers the blade— _

_"KYLE!—" _

Kyle's eyes flew open. He sat up slowly, rubbing his head. This was the sixth time since they had left the North Pole that he had had that very same dream.

"Kyle—"

He jumped, startled by the new voice. Katara was kneeling beside him, looking at him with worry, "Was it about your friends?" she asked, referring to his recent nightmare.

He nodded and she helped him to stand. "Where are we?" he asked.

"In an earth kingdom forest. We have to walk from here." She jumped down from Appa's saddle and grabbed her sack.

Kyle sighed and followed suite, still not used to the awkward height of the saddle.

Once he had picked up his things, he avoided eye contact with Aang. He knew from the moment that they had left that Aang must know the truth about why they had left.

"Come on, we need to cover ground." Sokka said firmly, breaking the silence.

Kyle was not focused on his steps, but only on his own thoughts. Wherever his friends were, he knew they were in trouble. He knew he had to reach them as soon as possible.

He once again drifted to the thought of the girl in his dream. For some reason she sparked a nerve in his mind, but he could not place her face right away. But there was something about the way she had screamed his name that had given him chills.

"We'll walk until we reach the shore, we can fly from there," Sokka called from the front of the procession.

Aang caught up with Kyle and looked up at him. When the boys' eyes met they communicated a silent urgency. Aang smiled reassuringly and Kyle could not help but smile back.


	29. Unwanted Company

The next morning Josh found Alex on the upper deck of the ship. She was leaning against the railing, just—staring at the water, unmoving.

"Hey," he said softly.

She gave a start and turned to look at him. "Josh—"she said slowly, as if making sure with herself that she remembered his face.

He walked toward her, and in one fluent motion wrapped his arms around her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder. "I can't believe we're all together." He whispered.

She bit her lip, "Not all of us." She looked up at the sky, "I wonder where Kyle is, right now."

A door banged and both turned to see Zuko standing there. He seemed both surprised and angered to see them out here before he had had a chance to release his rage with some firebending.

Alex only stared at him, but Josh made a step toward him. She reached for his arm but caught only air.

"Josh!" she cried after him.

But before he could reach the prince, he stopped upon seeing a strange shadow drift across the deck. Blinking, he looked up to see a large animal flying overhead.

Alex gasped, not only in surprise but in terror.

Zuko grinned wickedly, "The Avatar," he whispered.

Alex looked once more and to her utter confusion saw none other than Kyle peek his head over the side. He frowned upon seeing the ship, and hands reached to pull him back out of view.

To her horror Appa started to descend. She could hear Kyle shouting something about people in need—

'No.' she thought.

"KYLE! KYLE GO BACK! LEAVE!" she screamed as loud as she could.

She saw Kyle look over the edge, this time in wonder. He stared down at the girl, the same girl in his dream.

But now he knew who she was.

"ALEX!" he cried.

She turned and saw the entire crew was up deck, listening as Zuko gave them orders to capture the Avatar.

Luke appeared at her side, "Alex, the Avatar is here, what should we do?"

It was time, and she knew it. Now would come the time when she gave up everything she loved in her country to save Aang and the others from Zuko's grasp.

"Nothing," she said. She did not look at him as she turned to face Zuko and his crew. She knew by the look on his face that he knew she had a friend up there, but never would he expect her next few words.

"Leave them alone," she said dryly.

He blinked, "Alex, move aside," he said angrily.

She moved into fighting stance, "If you want to get the Avatar, you'll have to go through me."

"And us, don't forget us."

She turned her head to see that Appa had landed, and that Kyle was running toward her. He stopped beside her and he too took stance, Katara and Sokka followed.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, "you can't fight them."

"Let's just say I've learned a few tricks while you've been gallivanting around the world," he grinned at her.

She smiled back, "Prepare for the worst."

His dream came back to him and he started, "Alex, there's something I have to tell you!"

"It'll have to wait!" she replied as she rushed forward at the idle group of soldiers.

Having their own captain rush at them in a furious rage caught them off guard, and she nicked them easily with her flames.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Zuko racing toward Aang. But as she turned to sprint after him, she was cut off by—Luke.

She hesitated, "Let me pass Luke, the fate of the world rests on us getting Aang out of here."

He looked at her with lifeless eyes, "All this time, all this time you were a traitor."

"I'm not the traitor Luke, anyone who tries to capture Aang is a traitor!" she yelled at him.

"What a hypocrite, I never expected that from you, especially not when you're supposed to be dead."

Alex froze and turned toward the starboard side of the ship. She took a quick gasp as she saw who was speaking to her.

"No," she said softly.


	30. Traitor

**Ugh, I am so angry. just to let y'all know, I had Zula--sorry, AZULA - written in LONG ago, now that she finally appears, I have to go and change her name to Azula, which is so dumb in my opinion. I also got rid of those two other girls, since I had already written a character named Mai from the fire nation (seriously), she ruined it so now I need a new name. grrrrrr.**

**anyway, I actually have a cool song for this chapter! yay! .**

**"Scared"**

**Three Days Grace**

* * *

Azula took a step forward, very casually, not at all as if she were in any sort of danger. All around her the crew bowed, and to Alex's disgust Luke did also. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Troy had bowed also, but he looked unpleasantly at the princess.

Azula stopped in front of the older girl, an evil glare on her face, "They said you were dead."

"Sorry to disappoint," Alex replied dryly.

Azula's head turned to see Zuko and Iroh standing out of the way. She smiled, "This is a special day. Here I've caught three traitors—" she spotted Aang, who was standing in confusion near Sokka, "and the avatar."

"I'm not the traitor Azula, you are." Alex spat at her.

Azula's expression did not falter at the bitterness of the girl's words. "Stand aside, I'll deliver you to my father along with the others.

Azula pushed past a stunned and angry Alex, heading toward, not Aang as one would have suspected, nor Zuko or Iroh. Instead Azula set her course for Katara.

Katara knelt into a fighting stance watching the girl with a wary eye.

Aang saw who Azula was targeting and ran toward Katara.

Alex went to tell Aang to stop, but she never got a chance. No one was hurt, in fact Katara was pushed away safely, but Alex knew that Azula had gotten all the information she needed to get to Aang. It was now apparent to her what the princess wanted to do. She didn't plan on giving the avatar to her father—she planned on killing him.

Alex ran to Sokka, who was trying to approach his sister. She grabbed his arm, "Sokka, we have to—" but she was pushed away roughly. She blinked, looking up at Sokka from the ground. "Sokka, _listen_ to me, we have to get them out of here Azula isn't a nice person if you haven't noticed already."

"I don't trust you," Sokka had his machete near her face.

"Sokka, it's ok. She's fine," Kyle reached out a hand and helped her up, "Are you alright?"

She nodded, "Kyle, we have to get off the ship, _now_." She turned her head and saw that more fights had ensued, this time between Zuko and his sister.

Kyle nodded and ran over to get Katara and Aang. Meanwhile Alex rounded up a terrified and confused Tina.

"Tina, where's Josh?" Alex demanded frightfully.

Tina looked to her right, too shocked to say anything. Alex too looked in that direction and saw Josh standing idly by, watching Azula as if in a trance.

She ran over to him and pulled his arm, bringing him out of his hypnotic state. He shook his head to clear it and nodded to her, "Let's go."

As the seven of them climbed aboard Appa, and just as they began to take off, Troy ran to the edge of Appa's saddle. Sokka immediately moved to strike him down, thinking he was a fire nation soldier, but Alex moved in front of him, giving Troy a hug.

" Troy, we have to get out of here,"

Troy sighed and looked at her, "I can stall long enough for you to leave, but there's important work I need to do for the rebellion." He gave her a quick smile before turning and sliding down Appa's tail.

"Wait, Troy, what rebellion?" she called after him.

But he never turned to answer her, and as they took off she watched his retreating back.

Soon they were out of sight of the ship, and the confusion aboard it. Then it was time for the questions.

Sokka grabbed her shoulder, turning her to face him. She did not appear frightened, just startled. Most likely because her brother had refused to come with her and she was still trying to figure out what he had been talking about.

"All right, who are you?" Sokka demanded, mostly at her and not the two earth kingdom teens.

Alex looked up at him and sighed, "Well, before I renounced my rank by refusing to capture Aang, I was captain Alexa of Iroh's private fleet. I guess that's pretty much out the window now though.

"A captain, we can't trust you!"

Kyle lowered Sokka's hand, "Sokka, I told you she's fine. She won't hurt you, she one of us."

"No she isn't, she's fire nation!"

"Well, nothing gets past you," she said dryly. She turned and looked at Aang with a slight smile, "Hello Aang, I see you met my old friend Azula." She said sarcastically.

"Yeah, who was she?" Aang asked curiously.

"She would be princess Azula, Ozai's daughter. As of now she's the heir to the throne, now that Zuko's out of the picture as far as that, he won't be around to see the coronation most likely."

"Are you telling me there's _another_ psycho after Aang?" Sokka asked.

Alex's face became serious, "Listen to me Sokka, don't you ever classify Zuko as a psycho. Zuko is as harmless as can be compared to her. Zuko was just determined, Azula is just plain evil."

"And how do you know all this?" he asked suspiciously.

"I knew her, back when I lived in the palace—but that was a long time ago." She looked away, "even when I left the palace for the city, when my family went into hiding, she still managed to keep tabs on me. I suppose it was quite a shock to see that I wasn't dead, she can't be too happy bout that."

Aang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, "Wait…you said your name was Alexa?"

"Please, call me Alex."

Aang's eyes flew open, "Alexa of the Corinth house?"

Alex blinked; the name brought back many memories, most of which were ugly and painful.

She smiled sadly, "That would be me. How do you know that?"

"What was your grandfather's name?" he asked carefully.

She thought for a moment, "Actually I can't really—"she trailed off, her eyes growing wide. She looked over at Aang, "No way."

"What?" Tina asked, tired of sitting back and having to listen.

"Kuzon…" she said softly.

Everyone aboard looked at each other in confusion, except Aang. He smiled at her, "You're Kuzon's granddaughter? That's so cool!"

She laughed, "If you say so."

Sokka stood violently, taking her up with him. She was both angered and surprised as he stared at her angrily.

Katara and Aang stood also, trying to calm Sokka down.

"Sokka, let her go!" Katara cried, pulling on his arm.

Alex bit her tongue to keep from crying out as his fingers dug into the burns on her arms.

"She's a noble, she can't be trusted!"

He went to through her off the side, but Josh reacted quicker, grabbing her and pulling her back.

They both leaned against the side of Appa's saddle, Josh holding her protectively, while she did not make so much as a whimper, she only stared straight ahead.

Katara angrily sat Sokka down, "What is wrong with you?" she demanded.

Alex looked at him and saw an unfamiliar face standing behind him. She narrowed her eyes as the figure disappeared.

Everyone looked to Sokka for an answer, but soon he came out of his trance and looked at them all drearily, "what happened?"

"A spirit was controlling you," Alex said.

Everyone turned to look at her, Sokka was still trying to clear his mind.

"We should land over there," Aang interrupted, pointing to a strip of land below, most likely on the edge of the earth kingdom.


	31. Splitting Again

**"Complicated"**

**Avril Lavine**

* * *

When they had landed they figured out from a map that they were only twenty miles from Ba Sin Sai. At first Sokka wanted to fly, but Kyle and Josh pointed out that Azula had probably stationed herself near the city, and by flying would only alert them to the their presence.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Sokka demanded.

"We need to split up," Alex said as she adjusted the sword at her waist. It was a good thing she had grabbed it before heading up deck just before the battles had ensued.

Everyone looked at her. Josh, Tina, and Kyle looked as though they would follow her anywhere, but of course Sokka had to interject with his opinion.

"Maybe we should, I suggest me, Aang, and Katara go to the city, and the rest of you leave."

Alex didn't look up from tightening her boots, "Not exactly. You, Katara, and Kyle need to be separated from Aang."

"_WHAT?" _Sokka yelled at her, "Are you mad?"

Alex sighed and looked at him, "Azula walked toward Katara on purpose. Not to hurt her, but as a test. When Aang pushed her out of the way he showed Azula that he cared about her, which makes Katara a prime target. Just to be safe you and Kyle should stay away too, since you came with him."

"What would she want with Katara?" Aang asked.

Alex paused, thinking over the best way to tell him what she feared, "Aang—she wants to kill you, in the avatar state. I think she plans on provoking you by hurting or possibly killing someone close to you. Now she knows who that is."

"Why should we trust you?" Sokka demanded.

"Because she's got a lot more brains than you, so just shut up and listen!" Tina snapped at him. She turned to Alex, "You're the boss, where to chief?"

Alex nodded and surveyed the group, "All right, this is a large group so we need to be careful. Obviously Katara and Kyle will be together…and just for safety Josh should go with you. I guess Sokka will too." She looked over at Aang, "Aang and I will go separately, I'll bring Tina with me to make the other group smaller. Katara, your group will take Appa, to give Azula the illusion that Aang is with you, it may or may not work, but it's worth a shot."

"Oh no, I'm not letting Aang go alone with you," Sokka said bluntly.

"Well I'll be with him too," Tina said angrily.

Alex shook her head in wonder, "Fine, Sokka, if you want to come I can't really stop you."

Katara frowned, "But one bender to protect Aang? Will that be enough?"

"I think we'll manage, thank you," Tina said dryly.

"All right, let's head out. My group will head west around to the back entrance to the city, you guys go east the same entrance hopefully she won't figure out our plan."

* * *

An hour later Alex and her group were trudging through the densest part of the forest.

Aang looked at Alex, who was at the head of the party, cutting branches with her sword, "Why would Azula want you dead?"

Alex paused momentarily to glance at him before continuing, "Because if she were to be banished or marked as a traitor-I would take the throne."

"But what about Troy?" Tina asked.

"Who's Troy?" Sokka asked from the back. For once his tone was calm.

"My older brother. But he renounced his title as a lord, it would skip over him."

"So why don't you renounce?" Sokka asked.

She stopped and looked at him over the heads of the others, "If it was a choice between doing what I wanted and what was best for my country, it would be my duty to choose the later. I refuse to let Azula take the throne." She turned and hacked at another branch.

Sokka went to the front and pulled out his machete, "Here, let me help."

She looked at him oddly but nodded and fell back to let him lead, sheathing her sword, which could use with a good sharpening.

* * *

Meanwhile, the others were walking through a clearer part of the forest. Josh and Kyle were eagerly catching up on everything that was happening, and Katara was staring straight ahead.

Would that Azula girl really—kill her?

She shook her head, she was being silly. After all, didn't she have the upper hand here? Wasn't fire's greatest weakness water?

She sure hoped so.

Her thoughts drifted to that of the Firebender girl, she sensed there was something about her that was unusual. She also had an eerie about the three newcomers, especially the ones that were with her now. Kyle had had such vague knowledge of their world that she suspected that maybe just maybe, he wasn't from their world at all.


	32. Tear of Deception

When they stopped to camp that night, Alex took the liberty of examining her sword. The blade had become blunt from chopping through the three limbs. Now it was mostly useless, and as she tested it found it wouldn't even cut her flesh.

Sokka saw her and handed her a sharpening stone that he carried for his own weapons. She smiled, thanked him, and began to sharpen her blade.

"Are—are you a bender?" he asked.

She looked up, not stopping her sharpening hand, "Yes, I am."

"Then why do you—"

She laughed, "Some foes cannot be defeated with a mere flame." She frowned slightly and turned her head down, "I refuse to kill people with my bending, it wasn't intended for murder."

"You're the first Firebender I've ever heard say that."

"Well, we aren't all killers. Actually, the majority of us would just like peace, many serve the fire lord out of fear."

"Your brother, I assume he was your brother, he spoke of a rebellion. What did he mean?"

Tina and Aang had sat down and they too looked to her for an answer.

She frowned, "I'm not sure. I feel as if I should know, but I just can't remember. It's become harder each day to recall memories, as if someone is keeping them from me."

She looked at Tina; she couldn't keep the truth from her any longer. Besides, Aang might be able to help them.

"Tina, when I was in the spirit world with Ko, he gave me a mission."

"What kind of mission?" Tina asked.

"You were in the spirit world?" Sokka asked in confusion.

"You met Ko?" Aang asked also.

But Alex only replied to Tina, "He said that I need to get you all—_home_." She emphasized the word, and Tina knew what she was talking about. But Alex took a shaky breath, "If I don't—he's going to kill you."

Tina gave a small cry, and Aang spoke up, "But Ko can't kill anyone, he doesn't have that power—"

Aang was cut off by a rustling in the bushes. All four stood silently, Alex and Sokka pulling out their weapons.

Sokka didn't look at Alex but he spoke to her, "Wouldn't it be wiser to use your bending in a situation such as this?" he hissed.

She shifted her feet, gripping her short sword, "Oh yes that would be very wise, considering we're surrounded by dense forest that easily _burns_."

"Point taken," but it was not Sokka who said this.

A dark figure emerged from the trees. Alex immediately lowered her weapon as she felt the presence, but Sokka rushed forward.

"Sokka, no!" she cried after him.

The figure's hand moved ever so slightly, and Sokka was sent reeling backward. Tina took a few steps forward and caught him as he fell.

Alex sheathed her weapon, "What are you doing here."

Shakra came into the dim light of their campfire, "What, no 'happy to see you again'?"

"Who are you?" Tina demanded.

Aang felt a chill go up his spine and he collapsed to the ground, shaking.

Alex looked at Aang, then turned angrily to Shakra, "What did you do to him?"

He shrugged, "He is the avatar, such a strong presence from a spirit might cause such a reaction."

"You are not welcome here, leave." she said bitterly.

But instead, he went to the fire and sat beside it, floating gently off the ground, "I have come to help you."

"Yeah, right."

He reached into the fire and pulled out a small rock. He pulled a long silver chain from his pocket and fused it to the chain. He held it out to her, "here,"

She was cautious, but took it gently in her hand. It was cool, and she examined it carefully, it was a teardrop shaped diamond, and it caught the light from the fire.

"What is it?" she asked suspiciously, thinking it a trick.

"The Tear of Deception, don't be fooled by the name. it can be a very useful object for making peace in the world. You can use it to defeat Azula."

"How?"

"The Tear will tell you how, you'll just have to listen to it when it speaks."

"But what then? After Azula is gone—if she can be destroyed – what then? Ozai and Zuko will still be in the way."

"You'll see, trust it."

"And my friends?"

"When Azula has been defeated, you can use the Tear to send them home. You could do it now if you wished, but I suspect you will need them to destroy the princess."

Alex looked up to ask him another question, but he had vanished. Sokka was helping Aang to his feet, and Tina asked, "Who was that?"

"A spirit."

"Good or bad?"

Alex looked at the jewel in her hand, "I'm not sure."

* * *

Luke opened his eyes to see—nothing. Nothing more than his usual room, unexciting by far. He climbed out of bed and went to the window, watching the waves crash against the side of the ship. 

Luke was still trying to contemplate what had gotten into Alex. Sure, he had only known her for six weeks or so, but it had felt like a lifetime.

He frowned; surely she could not be a traitor, as Azula had said. What had she done to be clarified as such? He wanted to ask her brother, but he had yet to see Troy . He wondered if the princess knew that Alex's brother was onboard, but perhaps she thought him dead as well.

Maybe Azula just wanted them turned against her, maybe it was Azula who was the traitor.

He shook these thoughts from his mind, to think such things would result in execution. But as he thought about it, reasons why Azula would want Alex out of the picture became clear. After all, Alex was third in line to take the throne, after Azula and Troy —

But was Troy really lined up for such a fate? It had never occurred to him that the proud soldier had never requested a proper title, and he didn't seem like Alex in the area, where he would prefer to be known casually.

The door to his room opened, and he turned to see Azula walk in and shut the door behind her. He was immediately aware that he was shirtless and felt awkward at her presence.

She smiled at him, but it was not as warm as she would have wanted it to appear.

"Hello Luke,"

He bowed his head in respect, trying not to look at her. But he soon had to return his gaze to her eyes.

She took a few steps closer to him to stand by the window. He took a step back, allowing her more room than necessary; being in her presence gave him chills.

"I know it's hard, discovering that your captain was a traitor, which is why I need your help to find her, she needs to be destroyed. She is a threat to the fire nation."

"Pardon me your highness, but how can one girl be such a threat?" he asked carefully.

She gave a small, eerie laugh, "You'd be surprised." She looked at him, dark eyes boring into him, searching his face for information, "If you help me, you will be well rewarded."

He hesitated; he had no idea where Alex could be—sorta. But he knew that if he said that, she would think him a liar.

She saw him hesitate, "I see you're thinking it over. I'll check back with you later."

She turned and exited the room as slippery as she had entered.


	33. So Be It

Meanwhile, below the deck, Zuko sat alone in his cell. Of course he was thinking about Alex as well, but they were angry, spiteful thoughts. She had somehow led his sister here, he knew it.

_But really, why would your sister attack her then? Do you really think it's an elaborate scheme? _

'Just who's side are you on? I thought she was an evil little wench, isn't that what you thought?'

_Picky, picky, picky. One is prone to change you know. _

'Now what?'

_That is entirely up to you. As it is you are already a traitor, what harm would it do to help her? _

'_Help_ her? Are you mad?'

_Well, I am you._

The voice silenced, and Zuko cursed his own mind. Why did he have to be so convincing?

Now, to find a way out of here…

The door opened and Zuko stood violently, preparing himself to see his sister.

"Calm down if you want food, I could just give it to Watcher here."

A light was lit and Zuko saw Troy slide a tray of food through the bars. Watcher was perched on his shoulder.

"Why didn't he go with her?" Zuko demanded.

Troy looked at the bird, "Oh, Watcher? He's been Alex's forever. But he needed to stay here; he's too easy to track."

"What about—"

"Are you still talking to me?" he cut Zuko off dryly.

"Where's Alex?"

Troy froze and looked at him, "No offense, but you are one of the _last_ people I would _ever_ tell."

"I'm not supposed to be offended by that?"

"Oh, you're right. In that case, all offense should be taken." He said dryly, turning to leave.

"Wait!" but Troy did not stop, Zuko became angry, "I command you to stop."

Troy stopped and looked at him angrily, "Let's get something straight, I _don't_ take orders from you, so don't try to tell me what to do."

"I need to help her; she doesn't know what Azula's planning!"

"And I suppose you do? Please, it's obvious she wants to kill Aang while he's in the avatar state".

"No, that's not all. Please, help me find her, I can help her!"

"I doubt it. If anyone can help her on this ship, it'll be me." He turned and left.

Zuko released his grip on the bars and slid to the floor. This was it, it was all over.

_All right, that was noble of you. But knock it off, you tried being nice, now to get angry. You know what to do. _

'But Troy—'

_So be it. _

"So be it," he said aloud to himself, his fist clenching tightly.

* * *

"I think we might be going in the wrong direction," Aang said carefully as they trod through yet another clump of trees. 

"I know it seems like it, but trust me, I think we're supposed to go this way." She touched the necklace, which was fastened around her neck, hidden in her shirt.

"How can you be so sure?" Sokka demanded of her.

She sighed, how could she have forgotten that they had had no memory of last night's encounter?

"Just—just trust me, ok?"

They reached the top of the hill and Alex froze, looking down in surprise at the sight below.

When the others joined her, they looked at her surprised face oddly. To them, all they saw was a cave.

"Are you feeling ok?" Tina asked with concern.

Alex felt the diamond grow warm on her skin and took a step toward the entrance. Tina moved to stop her, but upon touching her skin she recoiled. She felt as if her flesh was burning from the inside.

Alex gently ran her hand along the edge of the cave's mouth. She could see inside to a—gate.

Blinking, she stepped inside, lighting her way with a small flame.

Tina followed her nervously, followed after by Aang and finally Sokka.

Alex hesitated before knocking on the gate—three short times, then one long one.

"What are you—" Sokka started. But he stopped, they all did.

A small notch in the wall opened, and Alex placed her hand inside. Taking a breath she released a small bit of her flame.

For a second nothing happened, until the gate was flung open, and everything went black.


	34. Trapped

Zuko snuck through the empty halls, headed toward the boiler room. It hadn't taken long to pick his way out of his cell. Sure, his hands were torn and bloody, but it had worked and he wasn't complaining.

He slowly opened the door to the hot room and slipped inside, latching it behind him.

It did not take long to put his plan to action. He took a small bag of blasting powder from his pocket and placed it near the main engine. Taking a long piece of twine, he laid it near the pile and led the remainder away.

After lighting the end he exited the room quickly.

Only to come face to face with Luke.

Luke stared at him, "What are you—how did you—" he shook his head, "Never mind, what were you doing in—there—" he stopped, horrified, "Is that _blasting powder_ I smell?"

Zuko tried to run, but Luke grabbed him by the shoulder, "Oh no you don't. what are you trying to do? Kill us all?"

"If it means getting to Alex then yes, I suppose I am."

Luke frowned, "Why would you help Alex?"

"Well since you aren't—"

Zuko stopped when Luke pulled a bag of blasting powder from his pocket, "I was thinking the same thing."

Luke led him away quickly, "We have to hurry, there's only one escape boat, we don't have any time."

" Troy—"

" Troy left hours ago, minutes after talking to you. He's safe."

"Well if you don't let go of my arm we _won't_ be."

Luke blushed and let go, "Sorry bout that."

"No time, run."

* * *

Alex opened her eyes weakly. She could barely recall what had happened, and now she sought out where she was.

She tried to stand but found herself drawn down by chains and an unusual weight.

She craned her neck to see that she was tied to a wide awake Aang.

He noticed her movement and grinned, "Alex, you're awake!"

"Where's Tina and Josh?"

"In another room—I think."

"Do you have any idea where we are?"

"Actually, we should be asking you." A voice said.

Both turned their heads to the left to see a man sitting in a corner, a torch in hand, he stood and walked to them, kneeling in front of Alex, "And just who are you, one that knows the code to our base."

"If you could please tell me where I am I might be able to answer that. You see, I'm having a bit of a memory failure. "

He bent his face closer to her, so close that she could see he was a few years older than her, "First tell me who you are."

"Well, there are many answers to that, depending what side you're on."

"You can trust me."

"Do I get a name out of you first? It is much more polite for a man to introduce himself to a _lady_ first." She said bluntly.

He didn't seem to be catching on, "My name is Haku. Now tell me your name or your friends are dead."

She bit her lip, "My name is Lady Alexa of the fire nation."

Haku froze, staring at her, "It can't be, she's dead."

"Do I look like I'm dead to you?" she snapped.

"I can arrange that."

The door opened and more torches were lit, making the room light once more. An elderly looking gentleman stepped inside, and it was at this time everyone in the room stopped breathing.

He stared at her in shock, and she in wonder.

"Father?" Alex asked.

* * *

Sokka once again struggled against the chains that bound him and Tina back to back.

"It's no use," Tina said lifelessly.

He glared at her. Well, he would have is she could see him. "There isn't any harm in trying. You aren't making much of an effort."

"What if they kill her?" she asked with a shaky voice.

Sokka felt his heart soften, "They won't. At least, I don't think so. Why else keep them in a separate room?"

"Does that mean they're going to kill us?"

Sokka didn't say anything at first, but struggled against the chains until he was turned to face her. She too moved in the same way. He gently put his arms around her, "They won't, I promise."

"I'm so scared," she said softly, "More for Alex and Aang than us."

"It'll be all right, we're going to make it out of here, you'll see."

* * *

Luke and Zuko walked quickly toward the city, trying in vain to locate any sign of life. But all they had seen was a stupid cave on a hill.

Luke stopped them the fifth time they had passed it. "Look, I think something is telling us to go in."

Zuko looked at him, "That's ridiculous."

Luke shrugged, "Fine, suit yourself." But when he headed toward the cave he heard Zuko grumble and follow unhappily.


	35. Lost

Alex felt the diamond grow very cold, and suddenly the chains snapped beneath her force. She stood and stared at the man she hadn't seen in five years.

The man took a step toward her, "Alexa? This is impossible…"

She took a shaky breath, "Hello—father."

In a split second they had run at each other, embracing the other as if they would lose them yet again.

Alex was almost crying from happiness, "I can't believe you're here…" she stopped as her face became angry, "where were you? Where were you when I needed your help? Where were you when mom was killed?"

He tried to speak to her but she tore away, "I think I'll take my friends and leave, I don't know what kind of place this is."

Her father frowned, "How can you not?"

She gave a repulsed noise and pushed past him, "come on Aang, we don't need this anymore, let's go find Tina and Sokka."

"Alexa!" her father called after her.

* * *

"Maybe we should go back." Aang suggested.

"No, I can get us out of here." She snapped at him.

True, they had been wandering the passageways for what seemed like hours. Each hall was carved out of dirt, and each looked the same as the other.

Alex sighed and stopped by a door, leaning against it with an arm. She looked at Aang, who was watching the door intently.

"What?" she asked curiously, glancing at it also.

Aang leaned an ear against the door, listening. He could hear voices inside.

He looked at her, "It's them!"

They both pushed and pulled on the door, trying to get it to open. Alex stopped, "Wait, maybe it's like the entrance…"

She pushed a hand against the door and let a small stream of fire pulse against the wood.

The door opened slowly. Tina and Sokka were sitting on the floor, and they looked up when she entered.

"Alex!" Tina said happily, trying to stand.

Alex picked the keys off the wall and after a few tries found the right key and opened the clasp.

Haku appeared at the door, "Your father would like you to come to the meeting room right away, and he says it's important."

The others looked at each other curiously, wondering what it could mean.

* * *

"We're lost aren't we?" Kyle asked dryly.

"Of course not," Josh cleared his throat and examined the map again, "We just have to—"he turned the map to the side and back again, "We just have to turn at that lake down there and—"

"Give me that!" Kyle took the map from him and looked at it carefully, "We're too far right, we need to go to the left a little."

"Really? I thought we'd just go right some more." Josh mumbled.

Kyle lowered the map and glared at him, "At least _I_ can read the map!"

"Just give me that!" Katara ripped the map from Kyle's hands angrily, "Honestly, you two are awful. If you don't cut it out, we're never going to get to Ba Sin Sai before the others do, now stay focused!" she snapped.

"He started it," Josh mumbled.

She gave him a nasty look and he closed his mouth, "Now, we need to land there," she pointed, "and continue on foot. I'm pretty sure Azula has seen us by now."


	36. Captives

wowz, I can honestly not believe that I have finally caught up with myself. I started writing this over a year ago, and it feels unreal to think it's nearing the end. Oo.

enjoy, while it lasts. : (

* * *

They entered what appeared to be the meeting room a few moments later. Upon entering, Alex was greeted by a visitor. Watcher flew at her eagerly and perched upon her shoulder, nipping her ear in a friendly manner.

Alex smiled and stroked his long tail feathers. She looked for a place to sit and found her father gesturing her over to the far end of the table. She only turned away and went to the other end, sitting near the middle across from Haku.

A door opened and two guards came in, each holding a prisoner.

Alex inhaled sharply as she saw the bound fire nation teens.

Luke looked at her with a blank face, and Zuko refused to look at her at all.

Alex exchanged confused looks with Tina, not noticing how angry Sokka was at once again seeing the fire nation prince.

Aang looked at Zuko, who stared back at him in frustration. Aang knew he was safe, but it was still nerve racking to know that his enemy was standing so near to him.

"These two were found sneaking around the entrance," an elder guard said firmly.

"Prince Zuko, it _is_ a most _un_pleasant surprise." Lord Matsu said with a grim smile. "But I do not know the other."

"What do you suggest we do sir?"

Alex's father thought for a moment before answering calmly, "Kill them."

As the two were led away, Alex stood up violently, "no!"

"Alexa, sit down this instant!" her father demanded.

She looked at him, "You can't kill them!"

Haku stood up too, "This is absurd! She's obviously involved with the traitor!"

She looked at her father, "You can't kill them, they could have vital information!"

She explained to the crowded room what her and the others were setting out to do. Her father laced his fingers and sat back in his chair, eyeing her thoughtfully.

"Sir, this is absurd," Haku said firmly, "She's speaking nonsense."

Her father looked at her, "Are you sure this will work?" she nodded, he sighed, "Very well, you may take the prisoners with you and your friends to Ba Sin Sai. I will try to talk to the earth kingdom troops to try and arrange for an army to meet you there."

Alex blinked, "really?"

"sir, with all due respect, I do not think it wise to let the fire nation prince be traversed around by a sixteen year old girl!" Haku protested.

Her father eyed him, "Well then, maybe you should accompany them Haku, just to make sure."

His eyes widened, "I didn't mean I wanted to—"

"It's settled, you'll leave in an hour." He stood and outstretched his arms, "Good luck to you all then."

98098

Fire lord Ozai looked up as the messenger hawk entered his chambers. Opening the message he read the letter.

_My liege, _

_The plan has been put into motion, I have infiltrated the rebel base. They are heading towards Ba Sin Sai with so few men, it would be wise to strike immediately. _

_Your loyal servant… _

He crumpled the letter in his hand and smiled wickedly, "Perfect."

98098

Alex was adjusting her pack when Luke approached her, "Hey."

She jumped a little and turned to glare at him, "What are you doing?"

He opened his mouth to respond but Sokka and Tina walked up, leading Zuko between them, his hands chained behind his back. He did not look too happy about it either.

Aang followed slowly behind, making sure to walk clear around Zuko to Alex, not making eye contact with the prince.

Sokka looked at Luke intently until Alex figured out what was wrong.

"Oh yes, that reminds me. What were you saying Luke?"

He blinked, "Oh, I just wanted to say thank you for—"

Within a second Haku walked up and clamped Luke's hands behind him.

He looked at them all, "What are you doing?" he asked her.

She stared at him without emotion, "You're still our captive, I'm not taking any chances." She looked at Haku, "shall we head out?"

He nodded and took the lead at the head to the party, "alright, let's get moving, we have a lot of ground to cover and not much time!"


	37. Master

K, I just wanted to make it clear right now that Alex is NOT based off of me, I got a weird PM accusing me of basing her off of myself, therefore automatically qualifying her asa Mary Sue. I have to admit, there are a few Mary Sueish qualities about her, but in the words of someone who I just forgot their name "There are several amazing books with Mary Sues, and they're great!" so yeah, I can cope with that.

Here is a little contest for you, the first person to get it right will get to have their name of the name of their character be placed as a villager who comes in later. ready?

_What award winning animated movie is the name "Haku" from?_

just put your answer in a review, I'll PM you if you get it right. it isn't that hard people!

* * *

"Wait, did you hear that?"

Josh rolled his eyes and kept on forward, "Kyle, that's the third time in the last five minutes you've said that. Face it, you're imagining things."

Kyle looked over his shoulder at the barren forest. Nothing moved. Still, he had the oddest feeling they were being watched, followed, or both.

Katara stopped them, "No wait, I do hear something."

They made no sound as they listened.

"I see you've walked right into my trap, thank you for saving me the trouble."

Fire nation soldiers jumped from the trees, watched smugly by Azula. Soon the three of them were chained up, and angry at that.

"You'll make fine bait for the avatar and his _friends_," she said the last word almost sarcastically.

Katara and Kyle fought against the chains, trying desperately to free themselves. Katara tried to bend some water from her canteen, which had fallen to the ground. But Azula spotted this desperate act and threw the canteen to a soldier, who walked away with it.

Josh, however, was watching Azula silently. He made no move to escape, only watched.

Azula motioned to her soldiers, "Take them to the edge of the capital! We'll wait for the avatar there." As they were led by she smiled, "I'm sure you'll keep my uncle company until then."

* * *

"Haku, we've been walking for _hours_," Tina said grumpily, "I don't know about you, but _I'm_ hot, tired, sweaty, and dirty. Can't we stop somewhere?" 

Alex looked forward at Haku's back, "she's right, we should rest."

Haku turned and glared at both girls, "We'll stop in a few minutes, there's a remote place up ahead. Now quite your whining, you don't see Aang whining do you?"

Aang shrugged, "I'm hot, tired, sweaty, and dirty too. I could use a rest."

Haku grumbled something and pushed his way through more trees.

Zuko and Luke were following obediently behind. They had long given up any chance of escaping. The chains delivered a nasty shock when one tried to bend, and they couldn't run away either, they were fire nation in the earth kingdom after all.

Haku led them to what seemed like the hundredth clearing. He eagerly threw his bags on the ground, followed by the others who exerted sighs of relief.

"Now come on, this is the best part," he motioned for them to follow him again.

Sokka pointed at a log in the clearing, "Sit, stay," he ordered the two captives.

Zuko spat something about not telling him what to do, but Sokka ignored him and followed.

Tina was the first one to see it, "Oh my god!" she squealed in delight.

Alex, Haku, Aang, and Sokka were right behind her. Alex let out a small gasp.

Before the five of them lay a vast, sparkling clear blue lake. Along the borders fern trees swayed gently in the cooling breeze.

Tina, among all of them, was the most excited, she turned to Alex, "hold this," in one fluent motion she pulled off her shirt, pants, and shoes. As she threw her clothes at a startled Alex, she ran into the lake in her undergarments.

After a second the dry ones began to laugh. Tina yelled at them to come in.

"It feels great!"

Alex smiled, dropped her friends clothes, and did the same. Once she had jumped into the water she splashed her friend playfully, starting an all out war.

Sokka and Haku ran in after the girls, after first discarding their clothes also.

Engaging in the splash fight, they had forgotten about Aang.

"Hey, where'd Aang go?" Tina asked.

"CANNONBALL!" a voice said from above.

All looked up to see Aang, who had leapt high into the air, and was now coming down rather fast.

Screaming and laughing at the same time, all moved out of his way as he crashed down, sending a huge wave to sweep over the teens' heads.

* * *

"What do you think they're doing?" Luke asked wondrously, as it had been several hours since the others had left. 

Zuko was trying to figure out a way out of his binds, and ignored his question. "I think I figured out why it shocks us," he shook them, as if to test their strength, "They must be coated with a layer of ice or water. So when we try and firebend, it shocks us."

Luke rolled his eyes, "That would create steam."

Zuko glared at him, "I don't see you trying to help get us out of here,"

"Get out of _what_? It isn't like we need to run—"he stopped and stared as the remainder of the party walked into the clearing, all dripping wet and laughing.

Upon seeing the perplexed looks on their faces, Aang and the others burst out laughing, and set about starting a fire.

* * *

"Do you really think you can keep us here?" Kyle demanded. 

Azula shook her head slowly, smiling smugly. "Of course I don't—in fact, you're going to be out with the rest of the Fire Nation's army. You'll be torn apart by the people you so long to protect."

"Aang will stop you," Katara said quietly. She had long lost her voice from screaming threats at the princess,

"That's what I'm counting on," she turned on a heel and walked away, "I'll see you all in the morning then." As she turned to close the door she smiled wickedly again, "Pleasant dreams."

The door closed, engulfing the three into darkness. They were chained to the wall, hung by their wrists and dangling three feet above the ground. At first they had struggled to free themselves, but soon found that they needed their energy to keep their blood circulating.

"They'll save us, you'll see," Josh said, trying to stay positive.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kyle replied silently.

* * *

Later that night, they sat around a roaring fire, talking with each other. It was then that Tina brought up a tender subject. 

"Aang, have you already learned earth bending?"

Aang nodded, "I met masters in the villages we passed on the way here, I'm learning really quickly."

"Then—isn't it time for you to learn firebending?"

Everyone stopped their own conversations suddenly, turning to see what Aang would say. Alex moved uncomfortably in her seat.

Aang hesitated, "I don't think I can find someone to teach me, I need a master."

Tina looked at her friend, "what about Alex?"

Before Alex could reply, Haku – who was seated next to her – replied quickly, "she isn't a master."

Tina glared, "Neither are you."

Alex cut in softly, "No, I'm not a master."

Luke frowned, "But on the ship—"

She turned at him angrily, keeping herself back from crying, "On the ship I was declared a master. But when a master pronounces someone of the same title, they must register them with the bending council of their nation. As I recall, Master Dang was _murdered_ before he had the chance to."

She stared right at the two boys. It was then that they both realized that they had killed everyone else aboard the ship.

"But even then, you're still the most quail—"Tina started.

Alex stood violently, "NO! I WON'T TEACH HIM! HAKU CAN!" she shouted, turning and walking back in the direction of the lake.

They all were silent, surprised at her sudden outburst, some looked angrily at the two captives, others at the fire.

Aang gulped, "I won't learn then"

Haku closed his eyes and sighed, rubbing a finger against his temple, "no, Aang. You need to learn firebending. To defeat fire, you must know fire. I will teach you."


	38. Kaida

well, a lot of you got the contest right, but Moon Eclipse Shadows was the first to get it right AND give me a character, so...please welcome her character Kaida! yes, she is a little...odd, but that changes later so ...yeah, what am I saying...read on!

(p.s. anyone here see the Desperate Houswives Finalie? OMG he ran Mike over!)

* * *

Haku found Alex by the edge of early the next morning, while the others were still asleep.

He slowly sat next to her on the sand, "Have you been out here all night?"

She was leaning back on her hands, looking out over the water, "I can't teach him Haku."

"I know."

She looked at him, a sad look on her face, "No, you don't."

"Try me,"

She sighed and looked away again, "Let's just say I don't trust myself to. I'm still trying to figure out who I am; where I belong."

"No one really knows who they are at first, that's why we have to fail at things, to learn."

She took a shaky breath, "Haku, I'm not ready for this." She bent her head, "And I have the strangest feeling I'm not supposed to be here."

He touched her shoulder, "You're here for a reason Alex. And that reason is to help us."

"What if it isn't, what if I was only meant to hurt."

* * *

_Tendrils of smoke rose from the ash scattered ground. Everywhere wounded bodies lay, cold and unmoving. The view blurred forward, passing what seemed like miles of dead. _

_It slowed, and zoomed in on a familiar face: Josh's face. _

Kyle opened his eyes, breathing heavily. He looked around at the barren cell, not sure what time of day it was.

The door opened and Azula walked in, an eerie smile on her face, "Rise and shine, today's the day."

"For what?" Josh asked suspiciously.

She laughed and walked towards them. To their surprise she unbound them, "I believe the earth kingdom troops – what's left of them anyway – are planning on attacking, along with the rebel forces. Isn't it a coincidence that my father's army is coming too? Well, we have two weeks to get you all ready."

She turned and started to walk away, but looked at them, "You better come along; there isn't anything you can do. There is nothing here for you to bend. The air is too dry for water either," she added as Katara moved a hand.

They followed her out into the hall, surrounded by personal soldiers.

"Where are we?" Katara demanded.

They exited another door, which led to the edge of a watch tower. Azula stepped aside, allowing the three to see over the side.

It was a vast city, burned to the ground. Bodies lay everywhere, and the few survivors were screaming for mercy.

They stared in horror as Azula said, "Welcome to Ba Sin Sai."

* * *

A week later Alex, Tina, Sokka, Luke, and Zuko watched Aang and his firebending training. He was catching on quickly for being so young. Alex noted the raw talent Aang so obviously possessed. It had taken her much longer and with much more practice to get as far as he had in a mere week. For these kinds of maneuvers it had taken her a month at the very least to master them, and that was with at least three to four hours of practice a day. 

Aang sat on the ground, panting. Haku stopped, also out of breath. "I think that's enough for today."

Alex stood and brushed the dirt from her pants, "We really should get going though."

Birds flew overhead, shrieking. Tina fell to the ground shortly after she had stood, she clasped her ears in pain, groaning.

Sokka, who was closest, dropped beside her, "Tina!"

Alex turned and saw her friend, but did not move to help her. She felt the diamond…she didn't know what she felt, all she knew was that something was going on.

Once the birds had left Sokka helped her to her feet, she had tears streaming down her face from the immense pain in her ears.

"What happened?" Haku asked, confused at her sudden behavior.

"You're an animal speaker," Aang said in awe.

Tina narrowed her eyes, "A _what_?"

He took a step, "An animal speaker. They can understand and talk to animals, they're bonded to them."

"I hate animals," Tina mumbled.

"What did they say?" Alex asked cautiously.

Tina frowned, "I—I don't know. But they were frightened. They were fleeing that area," she pointed forward in the direction they would have to take."

Alex placed a hand on the hilt of her sword, "I'll check it out, wait here," as she moved toward it Watcher flew in front of her face, screaming.

"He says 'danger'," Tina said, more calm now that it was only one animal speaking.

Alex looked at her friend, "Tell him I'm going anyway, and that he has to stay here."

She pushed her way through the trees, leaving her vision in darkness.

* * *

Alex took a cautious step forward, minding her footing. Or so she thought. The next thing she knew, she had stepped into open air, and she was falling. 

She desperately fought for something to cling onto to, but it was only when her sword caught hold of a branch that she stopped.

She looked up, she could only barely see the cliff edge, about half a mile up. She nervously looked down and almost choked on her tongue.

She couldn't see the bottom. All she could see was a black fog hundreds of feet below her.

She tried to calm her nerves by taking deep breaths, she hated heights.

She tried to pull herself up by her sword, but froze when she saw the branch crack a little under the weight.

_Isn't this fun,_ she thought bitterly, _either I try to climb up and I fall, or I fall anyway. _

_Let…go… _

She stopped, it was only the wind.

_Let……GOOOOO….. _

Alex closed her eyes slowly, letting her mind take over. She saw a man's face, smiling at her reassuringly.

As she started to fall, she saw another face. A woman's face. It was her mother, and she was frightened. She screamed something inaudible to her, but Alex couldn't make it out.

The vision only left when she hit the ground.

* * *

"That's it, I'm going after her," Tina started toward the clump of trees Alex had disappeared into hours ago. 

"I don't think that's a good idea," Haku said softly as he stopped her.

"Too bad! I'm going in anyway, who knows what's happened to her." She huffed.

Watcher cawed something at her and she turned away, "Stupid bird,"

"What did he say?" Aang asked.

"That she'll be fine," Tina said with a hint of resentment. She hadn't grown attached to the bird to say the least. She glared at him, but he only returned the look with beady black eyes.

"Maybe we should—" Luke started.

"You don't have any say in this," Haku snapped. He looked at the prince, who was seated quietly, "How come you haven't said anything?"

Zuko looked up at him lifelessly, "What's the point, you'll only tell us to shut up."

Tina couldn't help but smile in spite of herself.

Haku rubbed his head, "I want to wait for Alex as much as you do, but we can't afford anymore delays. At this rate we won't get to Ba Sin Sai for at least five days, we need to make sure we don't fall behind."

Tina grumbled something and grabbed her bag, along with Aang and Sokka. Sokka lifted the chain that held the two prisoners, "Come on," he snapped.

Zuko glared at him, "Don't tell me what to do, peasant."

Sokka gave the chain a yank, causing both to stumble forward.

Sokka grinned, "I'm so sorry, my fault. Won't happen again."

* * *

Alex opened her eyes slowly. Her vision was blurry, so she waited for it to clear. Yet it still felt…odd. 

She looked around her carefully, slowly sitting up.

Oh, maybe it was because everything had an odd gray tint to it.

Yes, it wasn't night, she could tell by the sky. Or—whatever that thing was. It didn't really look like a sky, more like a dirty black blanket.

"You shouldn't be here,"

Alex turned her head quickly to see a girl staring at her with a weird smile on her face.

Alex stood up quickly, causing herself to become lightheaded. She reached for something to grab onto and found what felt like a table.

The girl tilted her head and looked at her. She was about Alex's age, but there was something unusual about her.

She appeared fire nation, but her eyes lacked the fiery spark that her people were known for. Her black hair lacked sheen, and her skin was lifeless.

"Who are you?" Alex asked softly, almost afraid to raise her voice.

The girl walked toward her, looking at the spot where Alex had rested her hand. "My name is Kaida." She turned and eyed her, "How did you get here?" as Alex opened her mouth to reply she answered, "Oh, I see. You fell."

Alex stared at the girl as she continued muttering things under her breath. Alex took this time to notice the girl's clothing, if she could call it that. She seemed to be dressed in a dirty gray cloak.

The girl smiled at her briefly before looking back at the object, "Jeo was a good boy. Good, good boy."

Alex cautiously looked at her, "Who?"

Kaida smiled at her sadly, "Jeo, my dog. You're leaning against his coffin."

Alex let out a small cry and jumped away, turning to see that she had indeed been supporting her weight against a small coffin that sat above ground.

"Master won't let me bury him, so he will sit up here and wait." She smiled.

Alex took a step back, frightened, "Right…listen, can you tell me how to get out of here?"

Kaida smiled, "No one can get out. We haven't been out in a hundred years."

"What are you—"

"I fell down here too, my whole family did," Kaida began to twirl her arms around listlessly, "We got stuck here, so now we do what Master tells us to do."

Alex was starting to fear for her own life, "Um…yeah well I have to—go."

The girl frowned, "I wouldn't run if I were you," she lowered her voice, "They'll hear you,"

Alex nodded slowly, eyes wide. "Of course they will." She turned and started to walk away. She didn't know where, but to somewhere.

"Your mother didn't die," Kaida said eerily.

Alex froze and looked at the odd girl, "Ok, I'll just pretend that it isn't completely weird for you to know my mother is dead and take a moment to tell you that yes, she _did_ die. I saw Ko with her face."

The girl swayed as she walked toward her, "Yes, Ko took her face. But your mother did not die, she was murdered," she said with no emotion in her voice.

Alex blinked, "That is just ridiculous."

"And you have died thrice times," she grinned and did a twirl before stopping just in front of her.

Alex took a breath, trying to remain calm. Something told her that this girl wasn't playing around.

"What do you mean?"

Kaida giggled, "The first time you were murdered, the second was an accident, and the third was of your own choice." She gave a delighted squeal and ran around Alex to a tree behind them. Alex turned and watched the girl dance around the tree before she leaned against it and regarded her seriously, "You travel with a traitor Lady Alexa,"

Now she knew the girl could not be joking, not when she knew her name, "Who."

"You know who, the boy you have once befriended. He is not happy to see you alive, new emotions have stirred in him, and he wishes to forget when he murdered you,"

"Is that why I left here, because I died?" Alex inquired.

Kaida ignored her question and narrowed her eyes, "The boy is a traitor, beware of his ways."

A gong sounded and the girl snapped to attention. She looked at her worriedly, "I must go, Master is coming. You must hide, you cannot be found!"

She ran away as quickly as she had come.

Alex blinked again as the gong sounded twice more. She shook her head and walked into the fog, soon entering what appeared to be an abandoned town.

Everywhere people were bowed down in the streets, and Alex could feel something moving toward them. Spying a spare cloak on a railing she pulled it over her head and knelt in the shadows of a building, and she watched.

A ghastly looking figure strolled down the street, and upon seeing him Alex was overcome with sickness. She knew who he was, anyone of her nation would. She felt an incredibly strong urge to kneel to him as the others did, but she struggled against it.

He snapped his head in her direction, and she instinctively shrunk as far as she could against the building.

She could feel the enormous amount of power that was being emitted from every pore on his body. She was more prone to this power because she was fire nation, and therefore and ancestor of this great being.

She closed her eyes, trying to make herself unknown. But she was forced to open them again to stare into the bright amber eyes of Raidon, the Fire Spirit.

"Why hello, and who are you?" he asked dryly.


	39. Before War

Tina was crawling back into her tent when she heard Luke whisper to her.

"Tina, hey Tina."

She paused and eyed him. "Come here," he said.

She cautiously walked over to him to see him hold out his chains.

She laughed, "No, I'm not letting you go."

"Please, I know where she is. If she can trust me why can't you?"

She glared at him, "Just how stupid do you think I am? If she was in any danger I could go find her myself."

He smirked, "No offense or anything, but you aren't exactly the fighting type. Sure, you're not a bender, but you also don't have a weapon."

She grabbed his collar and stared at him angrily, "Say that again and I'll show you my weapon." She tuned to leave but stopped. She looked at him briefly, "Anyway, it doesn't matter, Alex is fine." With that she went into her tent.

Luke held out the key he had taken from her pocket when she had grabbed him, "she will be after I find her," he grinned eerily.

* * *

Raidon offered her a hand, and after a few seconds of staring at it and it alone she grabbed it. As he led her away she made sure not to make eye contact with him again. The first time she had already felt herself slipping away, and she wasn't going to let go that easily.

As she passed people, many did not look at her; they only remained frozen on the ground, unwilling to move.

"What is this place?" she asked herself.

She was led into what seemed like a large marble palace, the black rock shimmering her reflection as they walked. He let go of her and went to sit on a large marble throne in front of her.

He frowned, "Look at me Alexa,"

She did not, "I can't be in the spirit world," she mussed to herself.

He laughed, having heard her apparently, "No, I'm afraid not. This is my mortal realm, a place where everything is as it should be."

"They are afraid of you, how can you say this is good?" she demanded, eyeing the details around the foot of the throne.

He stood, "in this place you will see people who would have normally been shunned by the whole world! These are my people, and I could not stand by and watch them suffer!"

She blinked, "you mean there are more people here like Kaida?"

He froze, "I see you've met her,"

"Is—is what she says true?" she asked tediously.

He did not hesitate, "They all are, and now you must see why I cannot release them!" he saw that she still refused to look at him and made his way down to her.

She shivered at his every nearing form, but did not cry out when he touched her neck. He spotted the diamond that lay softly against her skin and did not touch it.

"I see you are protected by other spirits." He said, almost with regret. Look at me then, you cannot be harmed."

She slowly looked up and saw his face clearly this time. He was very handsome for a spirit, but then again they all were.

He touched her cheek lightly, "Oh Alexa…I had lost all hope when you had died."

She froze, "What do you mean? Why is everyone saying I died?"

He sighed and turned away, and as he walked he spoke, "You see child, our world and your friend's world are connected by the spirit world, two parts joined as one. But when someone under eighteen is killed in either world…they are reborn of the same age in the other, as a second chance."

She gulped, "so…so I was killed when I was fourteen here, and reborn as fourteen in their world?" she was confused, "But how—"

"You are given memories that you would have had as a child and your new parents as well. It is only as if you ultimately sped up time."

"So how did my friends and I get back here?"

He eyed her, "That is something you must ask your friend Shakra. But I believe it was because you could serve him a purpose," before she could answer he held up a hand, "you need to help the avatar defeat Azula. Ozai will be nothing then, she is the real threat here. If you destroy Azula you can easily destroy her father in return. But you need the diamond for that."

She eyed him questionably, "so I know how I got here now, but what about my—"

She froze, realization sweeping over her face. She fell to her knees, "no…no, no, no, no!"

He turned and placed a hand on her shoulder, "That is why you need to send them back. By bringing you back here Shakra destroyed the balance, but in return he must send the other four back in an attempt to even it out."

"How will using the diamond help the others?" she asked shakily, "How can it stop Azula?"

He held both her shoulders and stared deep into her eyes, "You must give its power to the Avatar so that when she dies…she will not be born into your world. She is much too evil to allow that to happen."

Alex nodded her head, "I understand. May I return now?"

He bit his lip; he did not want the lady to return. He had grown fond of her since she had been born, and he wished to keep her here with him always.

He smiled, "of course you can. But I insist you stay with me for the night."

* * *

When Haku woke the next morning, he made sure everybody else was up too.

"EVERYONE GET UP NOW!" he yelled at the through their tent walls.

Tired and disoriented, they stumbled out of their tents to see Haku standing next to Zuko, holding chains in his hand.

Tina gave a small gasp that no one else heard, and Haku tried to remain calm.

"I'm only going to ask this once: Who. Let. Him. Go?" he said through clenched teeth.

Tina gulped, "I—"

He turned on her, "Traitor!"

"NO! I swear, I don't know how he—"

"You were the one with the key; you were the one responsible for him!"

Tina didn't answer. Haku closed his eyes and dropped the chains, "Fine, I'm leaving."

They stared at him as he grabbed the few things he had brought with him. He looked at them, "I'm going to Ba Sin Sai, the battle starts today."

Aang blinked, "Battle?"

Sokka jumped in, "What are you talking about? I thought we were—"

"We were going to meet with them, until they were captured. I received a letter from Alex's father last night, via Watcher. I need to go,"

"We're coming too!" Tina said quickly.

He stopped, "I don't care what you do, but you're going to wait until I'm gone before you do anything, I don't want to be a part of this anymore. Good luck to you Aang," he nodded his head, and was off.

Tina turned on Zuko, "Where did he go?"

He looked at her seriously, "I have no idea. I was sleeping."

"Well I don't see—"she stopped.

"What is it?" Sokka asked.

She looked at him and Aang, "He went to find Alex."

* * *

Alex awoke the next morning and carefully slipped out of the bedroom she had been given by Raidon. She could sense that if she didn't leave now, she wasn't going to get out anytime soon.

On her hasty return to the mountain she once again ran into Kaida.

Kaida smiled nervously and stared at her feet, "I'm sorry if I scared you before, I tend to do that sometimes."

Alex smiled, "No, it's alright. But please, I need to find a way out of here,"

Kaida grinned, "That I can help you with, even if I can't get out myself."

She leaned in and whispered to Alex, "There is a large bison at the top of this mountain."

Alex was so relieved she thought she would die. She thanked Kaida profusely and asked her if she could help her get to the top.

Kaida smiled, that weird smile again, and pulled out—a bison whistle?

Alex stared at the object which Kaida had placed in her hand. She eyed the girl, "Why do you—"

She shrugged, "Always prepared you could say."

"Is it because of that whole mind thing?"

"Yup,"

Alex smiled, "Well that's good enough for me." Taking a deep breath she blew on the whistle.

What happened next was almost a blur. She was overjoyed to see Appa flying down, but as she climbed atop him he became surrounded by frightened people.

She hesitated, she couldn't possibly take them all out…and when she saw Raidon's face appear, she knew she had no time.

So with reluctance she hurried Appa up the side of the mountain, in which they entered a fog so dense that she could not see. But eventually they emerged onto clear, dry land. Momo greeted them and she smiled as he ran up to her as well.

She reached into her pocket to give him a treat but stopped when her hand touched paper. She slowly pulled it out and read it:

_There is a war today at Ba Sin Sai…_

In spite of everything Alex gave the weakest of laughs, "Thank you Kaida, I owe you one," she said to herself.

"Come one Appa! We have a lot of flying to do and not much time!"

* * *

When Haku climbed over what seemed like the millionth hill he was greeted with a horrid sight.

The entire city of Ba Sin Sai had been burned down, and fighting upon its ruins were hundreds upon hundreds of soldiers, from fire nation militia to earth kingdom troops to rebel forces.

Haku took a breath and raced down the hill, arms at the ready.

War had begun…

And this was the final hour.


	40. Death Goes On

**I apologize for the delay in the following chapter. I have been hard at work on my novel and it slipped my mind that I had neglected to finish this story. But thanks to a kind but firm reviewer, I intend on completeing it. I want to thank all who have managed to slave through endless chapters, and I do hope to end soon. Although the plot deepens with each chapter, so I may have to cut a few things out (so sorry).**

**Once again, I deepely adore comments of any kind (the good and the bad). I know a lot of you read this (I have a hit counter after all), and since over sixty people read each chapter, I find it disgusting that the rest of you can't muster up the time to write a measely comment. So forgive me if I am slow at updating, I tend to prioritize (not to sound bitchy).**

**Here is the long delayed chapter, and yes it is a little short. **

**Oh, here's another song to chew on:**

**"Youth of the Nation"**

**P.O.D.**

**(if you don't own this song, then buy it. Or email me and I will send it to you for free, it is amazing, and so sad)**

* * *

"What do you mean 'stay here'?" Tina demanded of Sokka.

He shook his head, "Listen, you can't come with us, it's too dangerous."

Tina gestured to the sounds of fighting that could be heard from atop the hill, "So you want to me to stay here and baby-sit Zuko while I listen to the cries of slaughtered men?"

He nodded, "Exactly."

She was instantly angered, "Just why can't I come?"

He sighed and placed a hand on your shoulder, "Look, without bending you aren't really much—"

He was stopped short as Tina's hand slapped him across the face. He stared at her, "what is your—"

"Listen water boy, just because I can't bend doesn't mean I can't fight. And since when have you suddenly been able to bend?"

"We need someone to watch Zuko and well, you're available."

"I don't believe this," she looked at Aang, who had tried to stay out of it, "Aang, back me up here."

Aang opened his mouth but stopped. Tina stared, "Well?"

He looked away, "Sokka's right," he jumped in again as she grew angrier, "Not about the bending part, but that someone needs to watch Zuko."

"You could always let me join you," he said calmly from a boulder.

All stared at him and Tina actually laughed, "Nice try."

He shrugged, "Gave it my best. Still, I think it's stupid to keep me up here, I'm just as against Azula as you all are."

"But a perk would be you finding a battle scarred Aang lying on the ground and you're just so kind that you 'rescue' him, right?" Tina said dryly.

Zuko glared at her, "What is wrong with you?"

Sokka grabbed his boomerang and club, "Come on Aang, we can't waste much time."

As the two boys started down the hill Tina yelled after them, "And I guess it's also a good idea to lead Aang straight to Azula!"

They didn't respond and she sat on a rock, giving a hefty sigh.

* * *

Hours later Tina woke up… 

She sat up quickly. There was no way she could have fallen asleep, not with all that racket. And all she had eaten was that piece of bread Zuko had—

She pounded a fist into the ground and looked up to see that Zuko had indeed slipped away.

Funny, she didn't hear any battle sounds anymore. Maybe that meant that they had won.

Standing up slowly to get feeling back into her legs, Tina ambled down the hill at a leisurely rate. When she broke through a clump of trees she almost expected to see some sort of celebration.

But she was immediately disappointed.

She could do nothing but look silently at the horror before her. Ahead lay a vast wasteland of corpses, some smoldering. She stepped gingerly across ashen ground as she avoided seeing the blank stares of the dead.

When she reached a clear spot she fell to her knees, unable to gather the strength to go on. She started to shake with anger, grief, and despair. Part of her wanted to blame herself for not helping, but the other knew that her involvement would only have been in vain.

She glanced around her, taking in each of the fallen. She could see the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, and the rebels. She could see fathers, brothers, husbands…all lost to this senseless massacre.

Out of the corner of her eye she spotted movement. Standing quickly, she eyed the place where it had come from.

As she neared it she could see that it was a body that had moved, ever so slightly.

In shock at seeing a living among the dead she could not move. But when she saw who it was that feeling was quickly replaced with distraught.

She ran toward the figure as best she could, being careful not to step on any bodies. When she reached the one that lived she knelt beside him.

"Josh," she whispered.

Josh moved his head slightly and painfully to look at Tina with blood shot eyes, "T-Tina…"

She shushed him, "No, don't speak. You need your strength." She pulled her eyes away from a large wound on his chest, "What happened?"

She bit her lip, realizing how stupid she was, asking him to speak when she had just silenced him. But he chose to respond.

"We—we were caught off guard," he coughed, and with it came a spittle of blood, which fell slowly to his shirt, "Azula was waiting, we didn't stand a chance."

"Where are the others?"

He tried to move an arm and winced as pain shot up it instead, "She took them all, and Alex…"

Tina inhaled sharply, "She took Alex?"

He nodded, ever so slightly, "She took them—to—"he coughed again, this time more violently than before. Tina sat back a little as fresh blood spurted from his mouth. She didn't want to admit that something was wrong for it, for she so desperately wanted to remain ignorant to the fact.

"Where did she take them Josh?" she asked tenderly.

He tried to answer but couldn't. The last thing he managed to utter was, "S-s-save—them—"

Tina nodded, keeping back tears. She gripped his hand, "I will, I promise."

As she watched her friend slip away before her eyes, she vowed revenge on Azula. She would not rest until the murderess was lying in a grave, with six feet of dirt pilled upon her maggoty carcass.


End file.
